Explore Business Standard
Indian Defence Forces
India's Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi was inducted into the International Hall of Fame of the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, becoming the third Indian head of the army to receive such honour. General Dwivedi, a distinguished fellow of the US Army War College, is the third Indian Chief of Armed Forces to be inducted in the International Hall of Fame after General V K Singh and General Bikram Singh. "#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, visited the Army War College (AWC), Carlisle Barracks, #USA, where he was inducted into the International Hall of Fame - the third Indian Army Chief to receive this honour, after General V K Singh and General Bikram Singh," the Indian Army said in a post on X. General Dwivedi, who was on a visit to the US, also addressed the faculty and international student officers' leadership, professional military education and evolving security dynamics. An alumnus of the prestigious college, General Dwivedi toured key facilities and participated in academic
Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi stressed the importance of coordination and interoperability among the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard to address emerging security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. Admiral Tripathi was on a two-day visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), during which he reviewed the operational preparedness and discussed measures to strengthen jointmanship and enhance synergy among the services. During the visit from April 21 to 22, Admiral Tripathi held detailed interactions with senior officers and was briefed on ongoing operational activities and initiatives, officials said on Thursday. Discussions focused on strengthening operational synergy, improving readiness and deepening integration among the services, they said. Highlighting the strategic significance of the islands, Admiral Tripathi reiterated the pivotal role of ANC in ensuring maritime security, enhancing surveillance and maintaining rapid response capability in the region, particularl
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Thursday said India's environment makes the transformation towards Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) urgent, as the country faces threats that do not respect domain boundaries. Asserting that preparedness must be multi-domain from the outset, he said that MDO is not a future option, but a present imperative. He was delivering the keynote address at the second edition of "Ran Samwaad 2026", with a theme "Multi-Domain Operations: An Imperative for Addressing Conventional and Irregular Threats." "India's environment makes this transformation urgent - not aspirational. We face threats that do not respect domain boundaries," Dixit said. Noting that along our northern borders, surveillance drones, satellite monitoring, electronic warfare, and rapid force mobilisation coexist in a state of permanent readiness, he said in the maritime domain, sea lines of communication intersect with space-based surveillance, undersea competition
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre if military cadets who become unfit due to disabilities sustained during training can be given ex-servicemen status, enabling them to avail reservation benefits in government and semi-government jobs. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said a majority of the military cadets were below the age of 30 and would need employment. "During the course of submissions, one of the aspects that was discussed was as to whether the boarded-out cadets could also be considered as ex-servicemen or ex-military personnel for the purpose of having the benefit of reservation for such persons in various governmental and semi-government jobs and posts," the bench said. "Learned ASG to seek instructions on this aspect, so that the scope of the ex-military personnel could also include the boarded-out cadets, since a majority of them are in their 20s, 30s", it said. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the Union of India, said it
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday flagged deficiencies within the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and said the government should, at the very least, accord respect and support to the brave armed forces personnel who sacrifice everything for the country. Gandhi said that a few days ago, he met ex-servicemen who were injured in the line of duty while defending the nation at the 'Jansansad'. "They highlighted serious deficiencies within the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), such as delays in reimbursement, shortages of medicines, hospitals refusing treatment, or being dropped from the scheme due to the non-payment of outstanding dues," the Leader of Opposition said in a Facebook post in Hindi. More than 72 lakh ex-servicemen and their families rely on this scheme for their healthcare needs, Gandhi pointed out. "When I raised this issue in Parliament, the Modi government attempted to evade my questions. The government possesses no information ...
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, who were denied Permanent Commission due to arbitrary assessment, are entitled to full pensionary benefits. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh held that the officers would be "deemed" to have completed the minimum qualifying service of 20 years required for a pension, even if they were released from service earlier. The judgment came on a batch of petitions, including those filed by Wing Commander Sucheta Edan and others, challenging the denial of Permanent Commission (PC) based on policy changes in 2019 and previous Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) rulings. Reading the operative parts of the judgment, the CJI said the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) for women officers were often graded "casually" under the assumption that they would not be eligible for career progression or PC. "The A
An ambitious vision document broadly outlining a series of strategic reforms, capability enhancements and organisational changes required to bolster the Indian military was unveiled by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. The release of the document came eight months after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. Following the May 7 to 10 conflict, all three forces were asked to work on the lessons learnt from it. The 'Defence Forces Vision 2047: A Roadmap for a Future-Ready Indian Military' envisages the transformation of the military into an integrated, multi-domain and agile force capable of deterring adversaries and effectively responding to any conflict. A central pillar of the vision is the emphasis on jointness and synergy among the services, promoting greater coordination in planning, operations and capability development, according to the defence ministry.
From a long-life seawater battery system for sustained underwater sensing and surveillance applications to a waterjet propulsion system for fast interceptor craft, the DRDO has handed over seven technologies to the armed forces, the government said on Friday. These technologies have been developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, the defence ministry said. "Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over seven technologies developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme to the three Services," it said in a statement. "The technologies are -- an indigenous high-voltage power supply for airborne self-protection jammers, a tide-efficient gangway for naval jetties, advanced very low frequency-high frequency switching matrix systems, VLF loop aerials for underwater platforms, indigenous waterjet propulsion system for fast interceptor craft, a novel process for recovery of lithium precursors from used lithium-ion batteries and a long-li
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan on Monday asserted 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan in May created a "new matrix of decision and timing in warfare" and insisted a war is not fought by the armed forces alone, but by the entire nation. He said political leaders, diplomats and soldiers all play their respective roles at the time of a war. After Operation Sindoor, which saw Indian armed forces target terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK with precision air strikes, a new normal has emerged -- talks and terrorism cannot go hand in hand -- and the country cannot tolerate even the threat of a nuclear attack, General Chauhan affirmed. "Operation Sindoor created a new matrix of decision and timing in warfare. Many challenges still lie ahead for the armed forces. No war is fought by the armed forces alone; the whole nation fights it. Leaders, diplomats and soldiers know their roles," he said addressing students at the 128th Foundation Day celebrations of Scindia School in ...
The Indian Air Force's "bold and precise" attacks on enemy targets during Operation Sindoor restored the rightful place of offensive air action in the national consciousness, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said on Wednesday. The Chief of Air Staff also said that his force has proved to the world how air power can be effectively used in shaping military outcomes in just a few days. Air Chief Marshal Singh was addressing air warriors on the occasion of the Air Force Day at the Hindon air base. "Our performance in Operation Sindoor fills us with professional pride. We proved to the world how air power can be effectively used in shaping military outcome in just a few days," he said. The Chief of Air Staff described Operation Sindoor as a shining example of what can be achieved through "meticulous planning, disciplined training and determined execution." "India's bold and precise attacks restored the rightful place of offensive air action in the national consciousness," he said. "Our robu
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday underlined the primacy of land forces in any battlefield and said dominance over land will remain the currency of victory in India's context. In an address at an event here, he argued the importance of land forces in any war and referred to last month's summit talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on the Ukraine conflict. "When you go back to the Alaska conference that took place between the two presidents, they just discussed how much land has to exchange hands," Dwivedi said. "In India, since we have two-and-half-front threats, land will remain the currency of victory," he said. The chief of army staff's comments came two weeks after Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said Operation Sindoor had once again established the "primacy" of air power. In his remarks, the army chief also extensively elaborated on the changing nature of warfare and how the Indian Army is carrying out transformative
Asserting that Operation Sindoor "still continues", Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Friday said the country's military preparedness must remain at a "very high" level, round-the-clock and throughout the year. In his address at a defence seminar hosted at Subroto Park here, he also said the military in future will also need "information warriors, technology warriors and scholar warriors." And, in a merging landscape of warfare, a future soldier will need to be a mix of all three "info, tech and scholar warriors," the CDS said. The seminar on 'Aerospace Power: Preserving India's Sovereignty and Furthering National Interests' was held under the aegis of the 'No.4 Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Programme'. The CDS said there are no runners-up in a war, and any military must be constantly alert and maintain a high degree of operational preparedness. "An example is Operation Sindoor, which still continues. Our preparedness level has to be very high, 24x7, 365 days (a year