Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that the Indian armed forces would have to go through a transformation to remain relevant in the fast-changing geopolitical environment, reported PTI.

“He outlined that transformation for Indian armed forces has become a prerequisite to stay relevant in the fast changing geopolitical environment and highlighted that a key strategic management competency is the ability to anticipate, prepare for and adapt to change,” a release said during a webinar titled “Transformation: Imperatives for the Indian Armed Forces”.

Rawat also laid emphasis on the fact that India was facing a complicated and challenging security environment that called for enhancement of military capabilities.

The two-day virtual event was organised by the College of Defence Management at Secunderabad. On the first day, two major sessions were held on Organisational Imperatives and Structural Imperatives.

The significance of restructuring military commands into Joint Theatre Commands was also noted to achieve the desired level of jointness in operations. Various models of transformation were discussed to derive important concepts as applicable to India.

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India-China tensions

Border tensions flared up in June after deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clashes. China identified the casualties on its side only in February, saying that four soldiers died.

The talks between the militaries of the two countries began soon after the clashes. However, a breakthrough came only in February as Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Parliament about the disengagement agreement reached between India and China.

The disengagement process along Pangong Tso in Ladakh began on February 10, as military commanders began pulling out troops, tanks and artillery from the area in the first step towards full withdrawal. The process has been completed. On February 20, India and China held commander-level talks to discuss pulling back from other areas.

On February 24, Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said that the disengagement process along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was a “win-win situation” for both sides, but there was “still a long way to go” before de-escalation and eventual de-induction of rival soldiers can be achieved through talks.

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