Ranchi, March 5: An NCC battalion exclusively for girls is expected to be raised in Jharkhand soon.

With the aim to promote NCC among the fair sex, deputy director-general of Bihar-Jharkhand NCC directorate Brigadier S.K. Aneja announced this at a news meet at the NCC group headquarters here today. This will create 1,500 more girls in the NCC.

It was expected that the battalion would be raised on Women’s Day (March 8) but nothing was said in this regard. “The matter has been almost finalised at the directorate-general level but it will be difficult to give any deadlines,” Aneja said when asked about the date.

NCC officers working in the state have taken a serious note of the move. “After the new battalion is formed, the number of the girl cadets will automatically increase. At present there are 23,000 NCC cadets in the state. Girls form only 18 per cent (4,140) of the total,” group commander of Ranchi NCC group, Colonel Anand Bhusan, said.

Aneja also spoke about his expectations from the state for promotion of NCC activities.

“Several other facilities are needed here. We expect the state to provide better honourarium to our associates and NCC officers, who dedicate a lot of time from their regular teaching jobs. The state should also increase the allocation for giving refreshments and incentives to our cadets. Ranchi University, for example, has reserved 5 per cent of its seats for NCC cadets,” Aneja said.

The NCC is one of the biggest organisations of youths in the world. Unity and discipline are the pillars of this group, which trains the youth and gives them opportunity to participate in national and international events. Students getting “C” certificates after successful NCC training are given preference in getting jobs in the armed forces.