NEW DELHI: The country’s defence is at the cusp of a major overhaul, with preparations going on to not only make major organisational changes but also tweak policy for procurement to scale up capabilities.
The proposal to materialise the Integrated Theatre Commands (ITC) being made under the Chief of Defence Staff in concurrence with the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force has reached an advanced stage and is expected, after the vetting by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to be ratified by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The proposal has 198 initiatives to achieve restructuring, which will be a long-drawn process. The defence of the country will be looked after by three ITCs with the concept of ‘One Border One Force’.
The warfighting structure is being reorganised into theatre commands so as to have assets of all three forces under one commander, who will be responsible for all operations under his theatre.
The Maritime Theatre Command, based out of Karwar in Karnataka, would be entrusted with coastal and maritime operations.
The Western Integrated Theatre Command will be responsible for defence and security bordering Pakistan. The Northern Integrated Theatre Command will have the entire northern border with China under its area of responsibility with headquarters in Lucknow.
The government has been the proponent of bringing a change where the defence will be looked after by forces armed with indigenous arms and equipment.
Cognisance is being taken of the hi-tech warfighting equipment being developed and used across the world especially in active war zones.
The Ministry of Defence in its 2024 year-end review said, “Acquisition procedures are being reviewed and renewed to boost ‘Aatmanirbharta’. Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 is likely to undergo a complete revamp in 2025 and efforts are being made to make it amenable to service requirements.”
More than 500 schemes have been planned for acquiring potent fighting capability in the next 15 years. The broad categories of acquisition schemes include force application, battlefield awareness, command and control, sustenance and support, and protection.
Defence Procurement Board has approved the annual acquisition plan 2024-26 under which 25 schemes costing approximately Rs 40,695 crore have been identified and targeted to be concluded in the financial year 2024-25.
High-profile defence projects expected to be ratified include the construction of the six state-of-the-art conventional submarines with integrated air independent propulsion and procurement of 114 multi-role fighter aircraft.
Acquisition plan
Defence Procurement Board has approved the annual acquisition plan 2024-26 under which 25 schemes costing approximately Rs 40,695 crore have been identified and targeted to be concluded in FY 2024-25.