New Delhi, Aug 4 - The Territorial Army, a reserve force of trained civilians for the Indian Army, proposes to raise an all-women's unit in the insurgency-hit northeast region, an official said Tuesday.

Presently, women can only join as doctors and nurses in the Territorial Army, which has a strength of 40,000.

'There is a proposal for raising an all women's battalion for the northeast,' Maj. Gen. K.V.S. Lalotra, the additional director general of the Territorial Army, told members of parliament during a presentation on the force.

Also, in a bid to tap young talent from the corporate, engineering, IT and other fields, the Territorial Army proposes to make its training schedule more flexible to accommodate the requirements of working professionals.

'There is a proposal to shorten their training period because if you are taking in an expert then you do not have to give him that much training,' Lalotra said.