Bhawana Kanth

Bhawana Kanth
Born (1992-12-01) 1 December 1992
Barauni, Bihar, India
Occupation Fighter Pilot

Bhawana Kanth is one of the first female pilots of India.[1][2][3] She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.[4] After the government of India decided to open the fighter stream in India Air Force for women on an experimental basis, these three women were the first to be selected for the program.[5]

Early life

Kanth was born on 1 December 1992 in Barauni, Bihar. Her father Tej Narayan Kanth is an electrical engineer in Indian Oil Corporation and mother Radha Kanth is a home maker.[6] growing up, Kanth was fond of sports like Kho Kho, Badminton, swimming and painting.[7]

Education

Kanth completed her schooling from DAV Public School in Barauni Refinery.[2] She prepared for engineering entrance examinations in Kota, Rajasthan. At that time, Kanth could not get into National Defence Academy as women were not inducted in the program. Kanth joined Bachelor of Engineering in Medical Electronics from BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru to further her studies.[8] She graduated in 2014 and was recruited for IT giant Tata Consultancy Services.[7]

Career

Kanth had always dreamt of flying planes.[9] She took the UPSC Combined Defence Services competitive examination and was selected to be commissioned into the Air Force.[10] As a part of her Stage 1 training, she joined the fighter stream.

In June 2016, underwent a six month long stage-II training on Kiran Intermediate Jet Trainers at Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad. They also passed the Combined Graduation Parade Spring Term at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal the same year.[8][3]

Kanth flies Hawk advanced jet trainers and it has been the plan to move her and the other two members of her cohort to MIG 21 Bison squadron.[5] Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth on 16 March 2018 takes the solo flight of Mig-21 ‘Bison’. She made the solo flight of Mig-21 from Ambala Air Force Station at around 1400 hours.[11]

Kanth also tried some modelling assignments and appeared in print advertisements.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Meet The Trio Who Will Be India's First Women Fighter Pilots". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  2. 1 2 "Latest Current Affairs and News About Bhawana Kanth - Current Affairs Today". currentaffairs.gktoday.in. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  3. 1 2 Mohammed, Syed (2016-06-19). "For IAF's first women fighter pilots Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth & Avani Chaturvedi, sky is no limit". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  4. ↑ Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (2016-06-18). "First batch of three female fighter pilots commissioned". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  5. 1 2 "Air Force's First 3 Women Fighter Pilots May Fly Mig-21 Bisons From November". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  6. ↑ "India's First Women Fighter Pilots Get Wings". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  7. 1 2 3 "Supported by parents, Bhawana Kanth to script IAF history, become a fighter pilot". News18. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  8. 1 2 "Landmark event in IAF history: Meet India's first 3 women fighter pilots". Firstpost. 2016-06-18. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  9. ↑ "First three women Air Force fighter pilots to be commissioned in December". Zee News. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  10. ↑ "Meet country's first women fighter pilots- The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  11. ↑ Team, Editorial (2018-03-19). "Interesting Facts about Bhawana Kanth – 2nd Woman to Fly MiG-21 solo". SSBToSuccess. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
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