Indian Army moving towards a ‘capability based modular and responsive structure’
SP’s M.A.I. has begun 2017 on an optimistic note, starting with the exclusive interview with the new Chief of the Staff of the Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat. In an exhaustive interview, the General has rightly pointed out how important it is to carry forth the great tradition of the Indian Army, even while accelerating the pace of modernisation.
The interview with our team, he has touched upon various aspects of the Indian Army, wherein the General has pointed out how the Army is doing its best to expedite the procurement and maximise operational readiness, by setting achievable targets. Some of the initiatives have been to reduce the procurement timelines as we all know in many instances how procurement decisions have protracted for years together, impacting the capabilities of the armed forces. The General has said efforts were on to strengthen procurement organisations, ensure concurrent procurement activities, faster decision making and establishment of a robust monitoring mechanism.
On the need to be ever alert, the General has said the principal regional and extra regional threats are from across the land frontiers. The threats need to be deterred by maintaining requisite ‘strike formations’. The active borders characterised by harsh and inhospitable terrain mandate a 365 days vigil with ‘boots on ground’. These threats need to be deterred by maintaining combat ready ‘strike formations’ thus translating into force structure imperatives. He has underscored how India needs a multi-role force capabilities wherein conventional and subconventional capabilities can be balanced to respond across the spectrum of conflict, with minimum restructuring and at optimum costs. “We need to make a transition from the present ‘threat-cum-capability based force structuring’, which has its underlining theme as ‘war prevention through deterrence’, towards a ‘ capability based modular and responsive structure’ based on envisaged future force application scenarios. Right-sizing commensurate to ongoing modernisation is also a key imperative that impacts current and future force structures.”
As the New Year dawned, the Indian Air Force (IAF) welcomed Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, a fighter pilot of repute and with an impeccable professional credentials and an impressive career profile, who took over as the 25th Chief of the Air Staff from Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha who had been at the helm of affairs since January 1, 2014. Soon after taking over, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa set a fine example of ‘leading from the front’ when he embarked on a solo mission on a MiG-21 Type 96 fighter aircraft at an air force base in the Western Sector. This has helped revitalise confidence of fighter pilots in the MiG-21 fleet and had a positive impact on the morale of personnel in the IAF.
In his fortnightly viewpoint, Lt. General P.C. Katoch (Retd) has said that India should never join the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) as it does not give land access to India to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Pakistan; it may increase India-China trade but with the existing bilateral imbalance heavily in favour of China, it would increase the imbalance manifold and also Chinese belligerence; and it would legitimise PLA lodgement and projects in Gilgit-Baltistan (Indian territory) undertaken without any reference to India; it would also indicate India’s intransigence to Pakistan’s genocide in Balochistam; and it will fit into Chinese plans to keep India boxed into South Asia.
We wrap up this edition on a good note, the launch of Agni-V and India joining the exclusive ICBM 5,000+ league. This indeed is a proud moment and a feather in the cap of the DRDO.
We wish all our readers a Very Happy New Year!
Happy reading!