Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan has pointed out that India’s security and defense readiness is going through a transformative period and that the nation’s response to any future conflict must be “unified, swift, and decisive.”
Speaking on the eve of the Army War College, Mhow’s two-day military seminar “Ran Samvad,” which is set for August 26–27, 2025, Gen. Chauhan emphasized how war is changing and now include cyber and space warfare in addition to the conventional domains of land, sea, and air.
He clarified that India’s military forces must become more cohesive and synergistic in order to adjust to the swift changes in the dynamics of warfighting, as they can no longer afford to function in separate service silos.
General Chauhan’s comments, which emphasized that the future battlefield does not recognize service lines, gave a clear picture of India’s strategic outlook. Rather, it necessitates collaborative planning, collaborative thinking, and collaborative implementation.
He emphasized that improving tri-services cooperation is critical for joint doctrine formulation, technology adoption, and capability creation in addition to combat operations. According to him, “jointmanship” is no longer merely an ideal; rather, it is now the cornerstone of India’s defense reform in the face of growing regional security issues and global uncertainty.
The “Ran Samvad” conclave, which is intended to serve as a forum for productive discussion, will represent a trailblazing effort to integrate operational insights and inconsistent narratives into the mainstream of strategic debate.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will give the plenary speech on the last day, in addition to Gen. Chauhan’s opening-day presentation, highlighting the government’s acknowledgement of changing defence needs.
A technical capabilities roadmap and joint doctrines are also anticipated to be unveiled at the event, offering guidance on how modern systems, digitization, and innovation may improve India’s military readiness. Under the direction of the CDS, the conclave is organized by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff in association with the Army Training Command and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies.
The organizers claim that the core of Ran Samvad is not displaying military prowess but rather fostering a common goal, teamwork, and operational comprehension amongst the services. In order to guarantee that India’s approach to defence transformation stays comprehensive, realistic, and forward-looking, it is being praised as a singular initiative to foster communication between the defence services, the domestic defence sector, and international security specialists.
The conclave seeks to close the gap between strategic vision and operational execution by providing a bottom-up viewpoint that is firmly grounded in the experiences of combat officers and operational commanders.
Furthermore, the Indian Army is hosting this initial edition of the conference as the start of a rotating series, with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force hosting successive editions in the years that follow. This model represents the formalization of cross-service communication as a routine method of exchanging information and formulating policies.
In the end, the conference and CDS Chauhan’s speech represent a growing understanding among India’s defense establishment that combining its land, naval, air, cyber, and space assets will enable the nation to respond to the unpredictable nature of combat in the future. India’s military leadership is unmistakably working to create a quick, decisive, and cohesive warfighting force at a time when battles throughout the world show how new technologies, hybrid warfare, and unexpected domains are changing battlefields.
Thus, the goals stated and the actions carried out through Ran Samvad are significant turning points in equipping India to meet the security challenges of the twenty-first century with fortitude, creativity, and unity.
