In his speech at the Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the importance of dynamic perspective planning in order to confront new challenges in the face of uncertain global security. Critical topics including border security, organisational restructuring, modernisation through indigenisation, and the integration of specialised technologies were the focus of the April 1–4 conference.
Singh emphasised how warfare is changing and how battles that involve cyber, information, trade, and money are examples of unconventional, asymmetric, and hybrid conflicts. He underlined the value of military intelligence bolstered by contemporary technology and urged the armed forces to include these aspects in strategic planning.
Speaking on the situation along China’s northern borders, he lauded the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for enhancing border infrastructure in the face of difficult circumstances and commended the troops for their alertness. Singh praised the Army’s successful reaction to cross-border terrorism and its cooperation with police forces in stabilising Jammu and Kashmir in reference to Pakistan’s proxy war strategies.
The defence minister also emphasised the importance of military diplomacy in furthering national security objectives and pushed for reorienting the duties of defence attachés to better suit organisational objectives.
He stressed consistent engagement with emerging technologies and commended the Army’s partnership with educational institutions for creating specialist technologies under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” project. Singh urged commanders to examine international crises such as Israel-Hamas and Ukraine in order to draw lessons that may be applied to India’s security environment.
