Senior leadership of Indian Army deliberates on road map for Viksit Bharat 2047

Actions to enhance jointness and integration in armed forces were discussed in a meeting with Army’s senior leadership for strengthening of joint service structures and organisations. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday chaired “crucial discussion” with the Army’s senior leadership on charting the future course of the Indian Army during the Amrit Kaal (golden era), aligning with the Government of India’s vision to make India a developed country, a significant global player and one of the most desirable countries to live in by 2047, the Army said. The deliberations are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

This is also the first high-level meeting under Gen. Dwivedi’s leadership since he assumed charge of the top post on June 30. The meeting, which will continue through Tuesday, is being attended by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs of the Army’s seven commands.

“The forum provided an opportunity for the Indian Army’s top brass to brainstorm on strategic issues and set the direction for the Indian Army’s transformation over the next two decades,” the Army said in a statement on Monday. “The discussions were centred around ongoing transformational initiatives by the Indian Army and its contribution towards achieving the objective of Viksit Bharat@2047. The senior leadership engaged in interactive discussions to define the Army’s role in the national vision and articulated the Indian Army’s Vision@2047”.

The vision is 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, to protect our national interests in synergy with the other include land, air, cyber and space.”

Key goals for decade of transformation

“The senior leadership outlined several broad goals to be pursued in next decade, including: theaterisation, reorganisation of army and command headquarters, realignment of Command, Corps and Area HQ boundaries to optimize efficiency,” the Army said. Other discussion agendas included world-class infrastructure development, enhancing multi-domain and cross-domain operational capabilities to include land, air, cyber and space.

Actions to enhance jointness and integration in armed forces were also discussed for strengthening of joint service structures and organisations besides the need to establish “common military stations and units for logistics, communication, and other essential services.” “Human resource development initiatives aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of personnel across the ranks were also deliberated upon.”

Other key initiatives include: modernisation of all the combat arms, combat support arms and the logistics units, enhancing joint operations and integration between the Army, Navy and Air Force to face the future challenges of warfare and commitment towards indigenisation, supporting the domestic defence industry and facilitating India’s position as a leading defence exporter.

Additional initiatives

The discussions concluded with the ongoing initiatives of Army aligned to the national vision to include: military education and training, defence diplomacy, whole of nation approach with the Army’s involvement in national initiatives like Gati Shakti, healthcare and education, youth empowerment and sports.

“The discussions reaffirmed the Indian Army’s commitment to evolving into a future-ready force that is not only capable of protecting national interests but also contributing significantly to the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047,” the Army added.