The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has allowed unmarried women to apply for the national defence academy (NDA) and naval academy exam, an official statement said Friday.

The move follows a Supreme Court directive on the issue last month.

In compliance with the apex court's interim direction, the UPSC has decided to open the application on upsconline.nic.in for this exam to enable "unmarried women candidates only" who are otherwise eligible in terms of nationality, age, educational qualification etc., the statement said.

Physical standards and the number of vacancies for women candidates would be notified after it is received from the Ministry of Defence, it said.

The application window will remain open for women candidates from September 24 to October 8 (till 6 PM), said the statement issued by the UPSC.

No application will be accepted beyond the prescribed last date/time, i.e., 08.10.2021(till 6 PM) or through any mode other than the aforesaid online mode, it said.

"Women candidates are not required to pay a fee for their application for this examination," the statement said.

The examination is scheduled to be held on November 14, an official said.

The admission of the women candidates in the national defence academy and naval academy examination (II), 2021, will remain provisional and subject to the final outcome of a writ petition pending in the court or such other order(s) as may be passed by the Supreme Court and action by the government of India in the matter, the statement said.

In a major step towards gender equality, the apex court had on August 18 allowed eligible women to take the examination for admission to national defence academy.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order on a plea filed by a person named Kush Kalra who sought a direction to the authorities concerned to allow eligible female candidates to appear in the national defence academy and naval academy examination' and train at the NDA.