Chandigarh, December 13:
Reaffirming the commitment of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government to support aspirations of young women, Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) for Girls in SAS Nagar (Mohali) has added another remarkable achievement to its illustrious history, with two of its distinguished alumni, Charanpreet Kaur and Mehak Dahiya, being commissioned as Flying Officers in the Indian Air Force. They successfully passed out from the Air Force Academy, Dundigal (Hyderabad) on Saturday, bringing pride and glory to their alma mater.
They were commissioned in an impressive passing out parade, that was reviewed by Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM.
Flying Officer Charanpreet Kaur is daughter of S. Harminder Singh Banwait, who is a driver by profession and hails from Kurali in SAS Nagar, whereas Flying Officer Mehak Dahiya is daughter of Sh. Anil Kumar Dahiya, who is a Government Teacher and also hails from SAS Nagar.
Flying Officer Charanpreet Kaur has been commissioned in the Administrative Branch, while Flying Officer Mahak Dahiya has been commissioned in the Accounts Branch of the Air Force.
Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Aman Arora congratulated Flying Officers Charanpreet Kaur and Mehak Dahiya on their remarkable achievement, stating their success will inspire more young women from Punjab to pursue careers in the defence services.
Notably, the Punjab Government has also established an NDA Preparatory Wing for Girls at Mai Bhago AFPI in July 2023, with the third batch currently undergoing training. It also is worth mentioning that a new block, which has been named after Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, was inaugurated in November 2025.
Director of Mai Bhago AFPI, Major General Jasbir Singh Sandhu, AVSM (Retd), expressed delight over the commissioning of the two alumni as Flying Officers, stating that this achievement will further energise the state government’s efforts to encourage more girls to join the armed forces. He extended his warm wishes to the newly commissioned Lady Officers for a bright future in the Indian Air Force.
