India's Military Reforms Gain Momentum As Theatre Commands Plan Set To Be Presented To Government Soon

Sharing the first official update on the formation of integrated theatre commands of the Armed forces, Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi has confirmed that the plan has now reached a "mature" phase, and is ready to be submitted to the government for decision-making.

Delivering his remarks at the Col Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture held at the United Services Institution (USI) in New Delhi, the Army Chief detailed the strides made toward setting up these commands.

General Dwivedi noted that there is a significant consensus among the heads of the three armed forces and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) regarding the plan.

"We have been able to devise a complete structure and plan nearly everything. I think now it’s at a mature stage to be presented to our decision-makers,” he said, Tribune India reported.

Theatre commands, which are aimed at unifying the operations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, are being tailored to meet India’s distinct security needs.

General Dwivedi explained that these commands are meant to address both short-term threats and long-term challenges, adding that the existing threat spectrum necessitates an integrated response from the armed forces.

General Dwivedi also outlined the achievements made so far, such as the creation of joint logistics nodes, with three now fully operating

He underscored the advancements in joint doctrines, standard operating procedures, and the creation of maintenance and repair organisations.

“We have made great progress on joint doctrines and standard operating procedures,” he added.

General Dwivedi noted that around 200 issues relating to jointness between the services have been identified, with roughly 30 per cent of them addressed so far.

A common operational planning process is also in the works, incorporating wargames, communication technology, common digital maps, geo-referencing systems and the aggregation of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).

Intelligence-gathering resources are being harmonised to support integrated operations.

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