Army Commanders’ Conference commits to modernisation through indigenisation
From setting up Army Design Bureau Cells at Command Headquarters to creating a full-time organisation to act as an adversarial force for realistic wargaming and training, the Army Commanders’ Conference, which concluded in New Delhi on 2 April 2024, discussed almost everything to further the government vision of modernisation through indigenisation.
Held in a hybrid format, the biannual event commenced with a virtual session chaired by chief of army staff, General Manoj Pande on 28 March 2024. This was followed by in-person discussions on April 1 and 2. The senior leadership of the army brainstormed a wide array of security-related aspects, including ongoing transformation initiatives, leveraging technology and innovation for capability development, enhancing operational preparedness, addressing emerging security and HR-related issues.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh in his keynote address on 2 April 2024, reaffirmed the nation’s trust in the Indian Army, acknowledging its indispensable role in national security. He applauded the stellar role of the army in guarding the borders, fighting terrorism and providing aid to the civil administration during crises. The minister exhorted the army leadership to constantly review doctrinal, structural, and organisational reforms to meet future challenges in view of the evolving security dynamics. The defence minister also appreciated the efforts of Indian Army in developing niche technologies in collaboration with indigenous industries and premier educational institutions.
Singh also reaffirmed the commitment of the government to the welfare of soldiers, veterans and their families. He emphasised the importance of developing a trained and motivated workforce that can handle the challenges of contemporary combat while being adept at futuristic evolution in warfighting. He called on the leadership to invest in human capital by adhering to the traditions and principles of mutual respect, loyalty, and discipline.
Addressing the senior leadership of the army, the chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan complimented formations and the soldiers for their commitment towards security of the borders with a professional approach while at the same time dealing with challenges and embracing the transformational changes. He also exhorted the senior leadership to embrace the aspects of jointness, integration, and technological absorption in sync with the call of the ‘Third Revolution in Military Affairs’.
The COAS called upon the senior leadership to continue pursuing the process of transformation and technology absorption besides adopting the best practices of sister services and modern armies. He also emphasised the need to ensure seamless situational awareness between commanders at all levels and troops on the ground. The COAS also highlighted that there is a constant need to undertake doctrinal and structural reforms by embracing change and being open to new ideas to meet future operational challenges.
The chief of naval staff and the chief of air staff also addressed the conference. They both emphasised upon the importance of enhanced jointness. They underscored the importance of synergy at the grass-roots level between the services for optimum operational outcomes.
Over the two days, senior army leadership delved deep into current and emerging security landscapes, contemporary subjects affecting the Indian Army and human resource aspects affecting serving personnel, their families and the veteran community. The necessity to align the training with technological advancements to harness the innovation potential of the Indian defence industry was also emphasised. The senior leadership reviewed the progress made on the ongoing transformative initiatives and future thrust areas were identified.
Highlights
- Organisational and procedural transformation will be undertaken to ensure induction/ absorption of niche technology towards futuristic capability development with a focus on Aatmanirbharta. Towards this, the innovation potential of Army Design Bureau will be upscaled besides Army Design Bureau Cells being established at Command Headquarters. This is aimed at empowering Command Headquarters, formations and unit commanders in facilitating greater outreach to the industry and identification/ trials of niche technology.
- To further bolster the initiative, the option of creating a separate Fund Head will be explored. In addition, test bed brigades/ formations will be nominated to ensure greater efficiency and continuity in trials and finalisation of trial reports. Moreover, to ensure lifetime support, future procurements will include aspects catering for holistic sustenance requirements during the contract finalisation stage.
- More opportunities to collaborate with other ministries will be explored, to optimally utilise resources and synergise efforts for enhanced capability building and infrastructure development in border areas.
- Human resource management policies will be revised and attuned to facilitate absorption of niche technology with matching training infrastructure. The revised policy will be more innovative towards meeting the requirements of a tech-enabled future-ready Indian Army.
To ensure realistic wargame and training, the feasibility of creating a tailor-made organisation to function as an Adversarial Force will be explored.