Major Navya Shekhawat is the first woman officer from the Indian Army to serve as Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to President Droupadi Murmu. She has been serving in the prestigious role at Rashtrapati Bhavan since her appointment in July 2026, placing her alongside the President during official engagements, state ceremonies and other high-level functions. Shekhawat is also the second woman overall to serve as the President’s ADC, following Indian Navy Lieutenant Commander Yashasvi Solanki, who broke the gender barrier for the post in 2025.
For Shekhawat, the appointment comes after a military career that began with the Combined Defence Services examination and officer training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. Commissioned into the Army Service Corps in 2021, she went on to rise to the rank of Major before being selected for the presidential assignment reaching the role within roughly five years of her commissioned service.
What Does An ADC Do?
The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and the ADCs form part of the military staff supporting the office. Traditionally, the President has five ADCs three from the Army, one from the Navy and one from the Air Force.
The role goes beyond ceremonial appearances. ADCs accompany the President during state functions, investiture ceremonies, diplomatic engagements and other important official programmes, while helping maintain military protocol and coordination during these occasions. It is a position that demands discipline, discretion, precision and a close understanding of formal protocol.
Shekhawat is now part of this small group of serving military officers who operate within the demanding environment of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Her presence also carries a distinction that none of the Army’s ADCs had held before: she is the first woman officer from the service to occupy the post.
From Sikar To Army Service
Shekhawat’s journey began in Kerpura village in Rajasthan’s Sikar district. Her entry into the Armed Forces came through the Combined Defence Services examination, after which she was selected for the Short Service Commission Women Non-Technical Course at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.
After completing her training, she was commissioned into the Army Service Corps in 2021. The corps is responsible for critical logistics and supply functions that support the Army’s operations and day-to-day functioning. Over the following years, Shekhawat built her career in the service and rose to the rank of Major.
Her journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan was therefore not a direct route to a ceremonial position. It followed the conventional progression of a serving officer competitive selection, military training, commissioning, professional experience and advancement through the ranks.
Five Years Into Service
What makes Shekhawat’s appointment particularly striking is how early it has come in her military career. She was commissioned in 2021 and reached the President’s ADC appointment within roughly five years.
The position is a special assignment for serving officers rather than a separate entry route into the Army. Her selection therefore came after she had already established herself within the service and progressed to the rank of Major.
At Rashtrapati Bhavan, she now performs duties in an environment where even the smallest details of official engagements can carry significance. From accompanying the President at formal ceremonies to supporting military protocol, the role requires officers to operate with precision and discretion.
Her trajectory makes the appointment noteworthy on two levels: she is breaking a longstanding gender barrier while also reaching one of the Armed Forces’ most visible assignments relatively early in her career.
Following Yashasvi Solanki
Shekhawat’s place in history follows another woman’s breakthrough. In May 2025, Lieutenant Commander Yashasvi Solanki of the Indian Navy became the first woman overall to serve as an ADC to the President.
Until Solanki’s appointment, the President’s ADC establishment had remained an exclusively male space. Shekhawat has now taken that change into the Army, becoming the first woman to occupy one of the service’s three traditional ADC positions.
The distinction matters: Shekhawat is not the first woman President’s ADC, but she is the first woman Army officer to serve in the role. Together, the two appointments point to a gradual opening of a prestigious military position that had long been associated exclusively with men.
A Precedent For Others
Major Navya Shekhawat’s story is bigger than a single first. In about five years, she has progressed from a newly commissioned Army officer to a position representing the Indian Army alongside the President of India.
For women in uniform, her appointment creates something that did not exist before: a precedent to follow. One officer cannot transform an institution overnight, but every barrier that is crossed makes the next one easier to imagine.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Major Navya Shekhawat’s journey is a reminder that institutional change is often visible through individual milestones. Her appointment follows Yashasvi Solanki’s historic breakthrough and expands the space women can occupy within the Armed Forces, showing that long-standing traditions can evolve as new generations of officers step into them.
For women aspiring to serve in uniform, perhaps the most important part of Shekhawat’s story is not simply that she was the first, but that there can now be a second, a third and many more. What other doors might open when the first person walks through them?
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