The Second Army Commanders’ Conference for the year 2024 will be organised in a hybrid mode, with the first Phase planned on 10-11 October in a forward location at Gangtok.
The two day crucial conference which will be held near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and will serve as a forum for Senior Commanders to review current operational preparedness, deliberate on critical strategies and outline future directives.
The conference will be addressed by key figures, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Critical national security issues and strategic aspects aimed at sharpening the Indian Army’s warfighting capabilities will be discussed during the first phase of the conference.
“Major issues to be deliberated during the two-day session will include the growing importance of a multi-pronged national security strategy that incorporates integration of civil military fusion and the diplomatic, information, military, and economic (DIME) pillars to counter contemporary threats besides the need for developing low-cost technologies and alternate strategies to counter the rapidly evolving character of warfare,” the defence ministry said in a release.
Topics like the infusion of technology in professional military education, enhancing the overall organisational health, and exploring the possibilities of recruiting domain specialists in niche domains will also be taken up for discussion in the first phase.
Similarly, the second phase of the conference is expected to take place in New Delhi on October 28-29.
The second phase of the conference will feature a discussion on evolving geopolitical landscape followed by brainstorming on operational matters and meetings of various Board of Governors to deliberate upon welfare measures and schemes for financial security of serving soldiers, veterans and their families.
While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will deliver a keynote address at Gangtok, the senior leadership will be addressed by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi and the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh.
Recently, the Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who assumed the role of Chief of the Army Staff on June 30 this year described the border situation with China as “stable but not normal”.
“With China, you have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront, and contest,” the Army chief had said.
This crucial conference will be conducted in the backdrop of the ongoing turbulences in the geopolitical landscape when the world is seeing wars not just in the Eurasian region (Russia-Ukraine) but also in the West Asia (Israel-Palestine-Lebanon-Iran crisis).
