THE OF POWER 100: DEFENCE

ACHIEVERS ACROSS THE DOMAINS OF POLITICS, BUSINESS, SCIENCE, THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, EDUCATION, LAW AND DEFENCE WHO ARE SHOWING US WHAT WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT LOOKS LIKE

- Pradin P Sagar

Arti Sarin, 59 Vice-admiral, Director General Medical Services (Navy)

COMMISSIONED INTO THE ARMED FORCES MEDICAL SERVICES, Vice-admiral Arti Sarin also has the rare distinction of serving in all three services in an illustrious career of close to four decades. The surgeon vice-admiral's room in Sena Bhawan has a painting of Maharishi Sushrut performing surgery, perhaps a nod to her yeoman service as a doctor in the service. Sarin completed her MBBS from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, and has specialised in radiation oncology. In addition, she has trained in Gamma Knife Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, US. She is now in charge of close to 7,000 medical naval personnel.

The vice-admiral, the only three-star rank woman officer in the sea-faring force, was born in a naval family. Her father was a career naval officer as was her brother. "Being a navy child, serving the nation is in my blood. But the training and in-service experiences have brought out the best in me. Reaching the pinnacle, of course, adds more responsibility," says the vice-admiral. One such memorable responsibility was commanding the INHS Asvini, the 875-bed naval hospital in Mumbai with a 250-plus-year history. "Nothing gives more pride than heading a place where you began your profession.

I faced the toughest challenge of my life there during the second wave of the Covid pandemic," she says. As CMO of Southern Command, she was responsible for handling the Covid situation in naval training bases across seven states along with 'Operation Samudra Setu', the repatriation of the stranded Indian diaspora.

ACCOMPLISHMENT

The only three-star rank woman officer in the Indian Navy, she is in charge of the force's 7,000 medical personnel