AdrianneKinne08 at 21:46, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T21:46:59Z

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{{short description|Indian general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]]
| name = Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar
| honorific_suffix = [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal|PVSM]], [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]
| native_name =
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| image = Major General Madhuri Kanitka (cropped).jpg
| caption = Lt Gen Kanitkar as DCIDS (Med)
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|10|15}}
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| allegiance = {{flag|India}}
| branch = {{army|India}}
| serviceyears = 1982 – 2021
| rank = [[File:Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg|20px]] [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]]
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| unit = [[Army Medical Corps (India)| Army Medical Corps (AMC)]]
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| awards = [[File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]<br />
[[File:Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]]<br />[[File:Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|20px]] [[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
| alma_mater = [[Armed Forces Medical College|AFMC]] ([[MBBS]], [[Doctor of medicine|MD]] [[Pediatrics]])
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[[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]] '''Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar''', [[PVSM]], [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]] is a retired [[General Officer]] in the [[Indian Army]]. She is the third woman in the [[Indian Armed Forces]] to be promoted to a [[Three-star rank]], after [[Vice admiral (India)|Surgeon Vice Admiral]] [[Punita Arora]] and [[Air Marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] [[Padma Bandopadhyay]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar: 3rd woman to hold Lieutenant General rank - Breaking the glass ceiling in Indian Army |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/meet-major-general-madhuri-kanitkar-3rd-woman-to-hold-lieutenant-general-rank/other-woman-rank-holders/slideshow/74472925.cms |website=The Economic Times}}</ref> She last served as the Deputy Chief of [[Integrated Defence Staff]] (Medical) under the [[Chief of Defence Staff (India)|Chief of Defence Staff]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Service |first1=Tribune News |title=Madhuri Kanitkar becomes third woman to assume rank of lieutenant general |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/madhuri-kanitkar-becomes-third-woman-to-assume-rank-of-lieutenant-general-50316 |website=Tribuneindia News Service |language=en}}</ref>

Kanitkar serves on the [[Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India#Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)|Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council]] (PM-STIAC).<ref>{{cite web |title=Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) {{!}} Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser |url=http://psa.gov.in/prime-ministers-science-technology-and-innovation-advisory-council-pm-stiac |website=psa.gov.in |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811153921/http://psa.gov.in/prime-ministers-science-technology-and-innovation-advisory-council-pm-stiac |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 6 July 2021, she was appointed the [[Vice-Chancellor]] of the [[Maharashtra University of Health Sciences]], Nashik by the [[Governor of Maharashtra]]. She took over this appointment after retiring from the Army in October 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar named MUHS vice-chancellor |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/lt-gen-madhuri-kanitkar-named-muhs-vice-chancellor-7392165/ |website=The Indian Express |language=en |date=7 July 2021}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
She was born into a [[Goud Saraswat Brahmin]] family, with three daughters, in [[Dharwad]], [[Karnataka]] in 1960. Her grandmother and grandfather were both medical doctors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gupta |first1=Poorvi |title=She Defied Her Father To Join The Army. Meet Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-stories/opinion/meet-lt-gen-madhuri-kanitkar-interview |website=SheThePeople TV |date=5 March 2020 |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930151524/https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-stories/opinion/meet-lt-gen-madhuri-kanitkar-interview/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She joined the [[Armed Forces Medical College (India)|Armed Forces Medical College]], [[Pune]] in 1978. She placed first in [[Pune University]] in all three phases of her [[Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery|MBBS]]. She was awarded the President's Gold Medal for the best outgoing student of the graduate wing in academics and extra-curricular activities, apart from the Kalinga Trophy for excellence in academics.<ref name="afmc.nic.in">{{cite web |title=Welcome to Armed Forces Medical College |url=https://www.afmc.nic.in/Departments/Administration/officeofdean.html |date=2 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102091843/https://www.afmc.nic.in/Departments/Administration/officeofdean.html |archive-date=2 January 2019 }}</ref>

==Military career==
Kanitkar was commissioned in the [[Army Medical Corps (India)|Army Medical Corps]] in December 1982. She did her post-graduation in 1990, earning the [[Doctor of Medicine]] degree in [[Pediatrics]]. Post that she underwent training in Pediatric Nephrology at the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi]]. Kanitkar has also completed fellowships at the [[National University Hospital]], [[Singapore]] and the [[Great Ormond Street Hospital]], [[London]] and the [[Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research|FAIMER]] fellowship in Medical Education.<ref name="afmc.nic.in"/>

She has tenanted appointments of [[associate professor]], [[professor]] and Head of Department of Pediatrics at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. She has also served as a Professor at the [[Army College of Medical Sciences]] and at the Army hospital (Research & Referral).
Kanitkar was instrumental in setting up the first Pediatric Nephrology service in the [[Army Medical Corps (India)|Army Medical Corps]] and has served as the President of The Indian Society of Pediatric Nephrology.<ref name="afmc.nic.in"/>
Kanitkar has served as the Deputy Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (Dy DGAFMS) in the office of the DGAFMS in [[New Delhi]].

On 28 January 2017, she assumed the office of Dean and Deputy Commandant of her alma-mater [[Armed Forces Medical College, Pune]].<ref name="afmc.nic.in"/> Kanitkar then served as Major General Medical at the [[Northern Command (India)|Northern Command]] at [[Udhampur]].<ref name="shethepeople.tv">{{cite web |title=Madhuri Kanitkar Makes It to the Rank Of Lieutenant General |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/madhuri-kanitkar-lieutenant-general-third-woman-to-do-so |website=SheThePeople TV |date=2 March 2020}}</ref> Kanitkar was promoted to the rank of [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]] on 29 February 2020. The [[Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (India)|Director General Armed Forces Medical Services]] (DGAFMS) and her husband pipped the [[epaulette]]s of her new rank.<ref name="indiatoday.in">{{cite web |last1=An |first1=Akriti |last2=DelhiFebruary 29 |first2=New |last3=February 29 |first3=New |last4=Ist |first4=New |title=Major General Madhuri Kanitkar becomes third woman to hold lieutenant general rank |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/major-madhuri-kanitkar-becomes-third-woman-indian-army-lieutenant-general-rank-1651187-2020-02-29 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name="shethepeople.tv"/>

==Personal life==
Her husband, [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]] Rajeev Kanitkar, is a retired General Officer and last served as the Quartermaster General of the Indian Army.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar: Whatever I am today is because of my husband and the army {{!}} Lifestyle - Times of India Videos|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/lifestyle/spotlight/lt-gen-madhuri-kanitkar-whatever-i-am-today-is-because-of-my-husband-and-the-army/videoshow/81362940.cms|access-date=2021-04-26|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> They are the first couple in the [[Indian Armed Forces]] to achieve the three-star rank.<ref name="indiatoday.in"/>

==Awards and decorations==
Kanitkar has been awarded the GOC-in-C Commendation Card once and the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of the Army Staff]]
[[Awards and decorations of the Indian Armed Forces#Commendation Card|Commendation Card]] five times.<ref name="afmc.nic.in"/> She was also awarded the [[Vishisht Seva Medal]] in 2014, the [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]] in 2018,<ref>{{cite web |title=LIST OF PERSONNEL BEING CONFERRED GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED AWARDS ON THE OCCASION OF REPUBLIC DAY-2018 |url=http://pibphoto.nic.in/documents/rlink/2018/jan/i201812501.htm |website=pibphoto.nic.in}}</ref> and the [[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]] in January 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=HONOURS AND AWARDS : REPUBLIC DAY 2022 |url=https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2022/jan/doc20221259101.pdf |website=PIB}}</ref>

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="5" align="centre" |[[File:Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|105px]] [[File:Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|105px]] [[File:Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg|105px]]
|-
|[[File:IND Special Service Medal Ribbon.svg|105px]]
|[[File:IND 50th Anniversary Independence medal.svg|105px]]
|[[File:IND 20YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg|105px]]
|[[File:IND 9YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg|105px]]
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="1"|[[Param Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|colspan="2"|[[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|colspan="1"|[[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|-
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|Special Service Medal]]
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|50th Anniversary of Independence Medal]]
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|20 Years Long Service Medal]]
|[[Indian military decorations#Service and campaign medals|9 Years Long Service Medal]]
|}

==See also==
* [[Women in the Indian Armed Forces]]
* [[Punita Arora]]
* [[Padma Bandopadhyay]]
* [[Sheila S. Mathai]]
* [[Rajshree Ramasethu]]
* [[Arti Sarin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanitkar, Madhuri}}
[[Category:Indian Army personnel]]
[[Category:Female generals of the Indian Army]]
[[Category:Female army generals]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Indian women in 21st-century warfare]]
[[Category:Indian female military personnel]]
[[Category:Armed Forces Medical Services officers]]

Madhuri Kanitkar - Revision history

AdrianneKinne08 at 21:46, 5 November 2025