Theatre commands, Agnipath, LAC new Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi’s priorities

Tribune News Service

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, June 30

In the early part of 2022, the Indian Army initiated a move to add newer technology to tackle China along the contentious Line of Actual Control (LAC). General Upendra Dwivedi, who took over as the Army Chief today, was then heading the Northern Army Command (Feb 2022-Feb 2024), also tasked along Eastern Ladakh.

Votary of cutting-edge tech

The General has a deep understanding of modern tech and possesses a thoughtful approach of integrating cutting-edge tech into military systems. Ministry of Defence

During his tenure at the Northern Command, the Army worked out plans on getting new precision artillery shells, multiple varieties of drones, loitering ammunition, next-generation beyond-line-of-sight guided missiles, anti-drone systems to bring down enemy aerial vehicles, specialised high-altitude tanks, and missile launchers. Several of this equipment has now been inducted or is in the process of being procured and is to be used along the Himalayas.

General Dwivedi took over as the 30th Chief of the Indian Army, replacing General Manoj Pande, at a brief ceremony at the South Block. The arc of his agenda has now widened. He will look at the biggest threat — maintaining the sanctity along the LAC. This will be closely followed by formation of much-delayed theatre commands and tackling the issue of recruitment of soldiers through the Agnipath scheme.

Sources in the Army say as Vice Chief, General Dwivedi had given his opinion on Agnipath. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been apprised by the Department of Military Affairs, headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, on four issues of the Agnipath scheme that need course correction. These comprise providing financial support in case of death or disability of soldier, deciding tenure of service, increase in numbers of those being retained after the four-year tenure and a specialised agency handling job-placement for those not retained in service.

On the proposed theatre commands, the MoD today put out a podcast on its official YouTube channel in which Gen Dwivedi and Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi were interviewed. Gen Dwivedi said on jointness “there is no discord between us. Once we (the Army and Navy Chiefs) have agreed on cooperation, integration and jointness, there should be no issue between our services”. Both studied together in the same class at Sainik School, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.

As new technologies of warfare are emerging, these will have to be inducted. This includes using space domain to secure war-fighting assets, artificial intelligence, 5G and 6G secure communication. Technological advancements have changed character of warfare. “The General has a deep understanding of modern and emerging technologies and possesses a thoughtful approach of harnessing and integrating cutting-edge technologies into military systems,” a statement of the MoD said.

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