2 min readNew DelhiMar 22, 2026 03:00 PM ISTSingh made the announcements at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Sainik School Ghorakhal in Uttarakhand.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced a sweeping expansion of India’s military-oriented education infrastructure, promising 100 new Sainik Schools and a significant increase in National Cadet Corps strength. Singh made the announcements at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Sainik School Ghorakhal in Uttarakhand.In Sunday’s announcement, he also told to expand NCC enrolment from the current 17 lakh to 20 lakh cadets — an addition of three lakh young recruits who will undergo training in discipline, leadership, and civic values.“Previously, there were 1.7 million recruitments in the NCC; now it has been decided to increase this to 2 million so that more children can learn the values essential for nation-building,” Singh said, framing the expansion not merely as a numbers exercise but as an investment in the character of the next generation.Alongside the NCC expansion, the Defence Minister announced that 100 new Sainik Schools will be established across the country under a public-private partnership model. Earlier, these schools were a fully government-funded model that had historically governed these institutions.Singh underlined that Sainik Schools do not exist solely to produce military officers. Their broader mandate, he said, is to groom leaders across sectors — instilling in students the rigour, resilience, and values that translate well beyond the parade ground.One of the major decisions of the government is to open Sainik Schools to girls. The performance of girl cadets since the policy’s rollout, he said, had put to rest any doubts about their capabilities. “Daughters are equal to sons in every field,” Singh told the gathering.In the event, he said, “Performance of girl cadets has proven that daughters are equal to sons in every field. A strong nation is built when its citizens are ready to face any eventuality.” © IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Sainik School