Rajnath says Sudarshan Chakra roadmap in works, suggests two-phase rollout

Defence Minister says committee formed to examine project, draft 'realistic' action plan

India’s planned defence shield system under Mission Sudarshan Chakra — announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address — could be rolled out in two phases over the next five and ten years, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stating on Tuesday that a committee is examining the project and will prepare an action plan.

 

Addressing the Combined Commanders’ Conference in Kolkata, Singh urged the military leadership to adopt a proactive approach and work towards building the Sudarshan Chakra system. “A committee has been formed to examine the project and prepare a realistic action plan,” he said, suggesting that a medium-term plan for the next five years and a long-term plan for the next ten years should be drawn up to make it a reality.

 

Under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged that by 2035 the country’s national security shield will be expanded, strengthened, and modernised, ensuring full protection of all critical sites — both strategic and civilian, including hospitals, railways, and centres of faith — through new technological platforms. He has also emphasised that the mission will deliver a weapon system capable not only of neutralising enemy attacks but also of striking back with multi-fold force.

 

Describing the proposed system as India’s version of the American Golden Dome initiative — the recently announced layered missile defence system — Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan said in August that it would demand extensive integration of capabilities, development of supporting infrastructure, and the use of big data, artificial intelligence, and large language models. He also stressed that the system would rely on a network of sensors distributed across land, air, sea, and space to achieve its intended capabilities.

 

Also on Tuesday, the defence minister noted that the nature of warfare is constantly evolving, with recent global conflicts highlighting the central role of technology in military affairs. “Wars of today are so sudden and unpredictable that it is extremely difficult to foretell its duration. It can be two months, a year, or even five years. We need to be prepared,” he said, stressing that the country must maintain sufficient surge capacity — the ability to rapidly scale up defence production during war or crisis.

 

Calling on the armed forces to look beyond traditional concepts of war and prepare for unconventional threats — spanning information, ideological, ecological, and biological warfare — the defence minister stressed the need for constant assessment of how global changes affect the country’s security system.

 

Singh also urged focus on the mantra of “JAI (Jointness, Aatmanirbharta, and Innovation)” articulated by Prime Minister Modi in the inaugural session of the conference on Monday. He reaffirmed the Prime Minister’s vision of strengthening the role of the private sector in building a robust defence innovation ecosystem and making the domestic industry the biggest and best in the world.

 

Reiterating themes that have gained greater salience since Operation Sindoor, Singh emphasised that tri-service jointness was essential to confronting emerging challenges, and that self-reliance was the cornerstone of strategic autonomy.