NEW DELHI: Affirming his views on a National Security Strategy, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Friday pointed towards the formulation of a strategy that absorbs the changes in international geopolitics.
Chauhan said that “international geopolitics is in flux and the national strategy should aim to absorb the changes in such a way that it meets the challenges and exploits the opportunities.” The CDS also highlighted that the armed forces are investing in technology. Technology is needed more as India is in the process of reorganising its war-fighting structure into theatres, he said.
Chauhan was delivering the inaugural speech at the DRDO Directors’ Conclave, an annual event of Defence Research and Development Organisation, in New Delhi on Friday. He stressed the need to perform, reform, transform, inform and conform to meet the emerging challenges.
India does not have a National Security Strategy, which is an all-encompassing and overarching document for a nation providing a direction to employ various instruments of national power — diplomatic, informational, military and economic — to advance and protect its national interests from external and internal threats.
Referring to the “technology requirements emerging from theaterisation”, he said superiority in technology and tactics is the need of the hour and Indian armed forces are investing in new technologies to win engagements.
Highlighting the principles of jointness, integration and theaterisation, the General said that in the national security realm, the concept of theaterisation is a fundamental change that is on the anvil. “It is one of the most ambitious changes with far-reaching implications attempted post-Independence. The start of this journey depends on the right steps being taken first towards jointness and integration. Theaterisation involves the creation of tri-services theatre-specific structures for effective response along the entire spectrum of conflict,” he explained.
The integration in the physical domain aims to achieve a multiplier effect as it combines the unique capabilities of the Services through integrated processes and structures to increase the warfighting capability, he said.
Dr Samir V Kamat, secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, highlighted the changes occurring in the nature of warfare and the criticality involved in them. He stressed on the need to reform and transform the perspectives in tandem with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of Aatmanirbharta and Make in India.
General Chauhan released the DRDO’s second list of systems and subsystems for the industry to design, develop and manufacture, in line with Aatmanirbhar Bharat. This second list of DRDO is in continuation of the list of 108 items released earlier.