New Delhi: Usha Sikdar on August 1 became the second woman in the Armed Forces to don the uniform of a General after Air Marshal Padma Bandhopadhyaya.

Sikdar on promotion to the rank of Major General has taken over as Additional Director General, military nursing service, at Army headquarters in New Delhi, Defence Ministry said.

Sikdar provided nursing care to soldiers during the 1965 Indo-Pak conflict and also during 1971 war.

She served in Operation Rakshak at a base hospital.

She held coveted nursing appointments, including principal matron at military hospitals in Allahabad, Srinagar and Delhi.

PTI