The meeting came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 78th Independence Day celebrations from the Red Fort.
Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday chaired a meeting of his top generals to outline the army’s strategy and priorities during the Amrit Kaal (the period leading to India’s independence centenary) and align the force’s goals with the government’s vision of making India a developed country and a significant global player by 2047.
Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi. (Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times)
“The forum provided an opportunity for the Indian Army’s top brass to brainstorm on strategic issues and set the direction for the army’s transformation over the next two decades,” the army said in a statement.
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The discussions, which will continue Tuesday, saw the army brass outline a variety of broad goals to be pursued over the next decade, including theaterisation, reorganisation of the army and its seven command headquarters, and the crucial realignment of command, corps and area headquarters boundaries.
The meeting came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the 78th Independence Day celebrations from the Red Fort, with the theme of this year’s function being ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047.’ The theme is expected to serve as a platform to provide a renewed push to the government’s efforts towards transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047.
“Other discussion points at the meeting included world-class infrastructure development, and enhancing multi-domain and cross-domain operational capabilities including land, air, cyber and space,” the statement said. This is the first high-level meeting under Dwivedi since he became army chief on June 30. It is being attended by the generals heading the army’s seven commands.
The senior leadership engaged in discussions to define the army’s role in the overarching national vision and articulated the Indian Army’s Vision@2047 as, “to transform into a modern, agile, adaptive, technology-enabled, and self-reliant future-ready force, capable of deterring and winning wars in a multi-domain environment across the spectrum of operations, and to protect our national interests in synergy with the other services,” the statement said.
Dwivedi asked all stakeholders to promote atmanirbharta (self-reliance), indigenisation of weapons, equipment and platforms, and support the Indian defence industry to not only develop world-class equipment but also help the country become a leading defence exporter.
Self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector is a top priority for the government.
In his August 15 address, the PM captured the strides made by India to further self-reliance in the critical defence manufacturing sector and how the country had gradually transformed itself from being an importer of military hardware to an exporter.
Conduct of data-centric operations by leveraging technology to enhance the military’s existing capabilities was also deliberated at the meeting.
“In addition, the road map for capability development and upgradation of mechanised forces, artillery, infantry, combat aviation and air defence was discussed along with options for enhancement of logistics and other capabilities,” the statement said.
The top brass discussed steps to enhance jointness and integration in the armed forces for strengthening joint service structures and organisations, with specific focus on setting up common military stations and units for logistics, communication, and other essential services.
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On July 2, Modi said in Parliament that the creation of theatre commands to bolster national security was on track, the modernisation of the armed forces was in full swing, and the government was working on reforms to ensure the military was always battle ready.
The creation of theatre commands is a long-standing and crucial reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars. On May 10, the government notified the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, with the law aimed at pushing jointness among the three services.
Monday’s discussions reaffirmed the army’s commitment to transforming itself into a future-ready force that is not only capable of defending national interests but also contributing significantly to the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, the statement added.