'Political leadership' clear on theatre commands, says defence secretary

The government is keen to integrate the country’s armed forces into theatre commands, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Friday. 

“The political leadership is very clear that we have to move towards the integration of the three services into theatre commands,” so that national power can be applied in a strategic manner, Singh said at a seminar organised by accounting firm KPMG in New Delhi.  

“That process is underway. A blueprint has been prepared, and we are awaiting approval at the highest level.” 

In an era where warfare involves multiple domains such as space, cyber, land, sea and air, the integrated theatre commands are needed to safeguard India’s interests, Singh said. “We are moving in that direction.”

While the idea of the integrated theatre commands has been doing the rounds of discussions since the Kargil War of 1999, the armed forces have submitted a proposal to the government in recent months. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is the clearing authority, has yet to approve the proposal. 

Former Chief of Defence Staff General (CDS) Anil Chauhan (retired) had told Business Standard earlier while still in office that the proposed structure would include both land and sea-based theatre commands, reflecting India’s strategic challenges and opportunities.

Although approved by the CCS in 2019, the CDS post was an aftereffect of the Kargil War.

Speaking about the current geopolitical uncertainty, Singh said, the consensus of yesterday on international norms have been broken, and countries are rearming themselves and spending more. India is trying to ensure that it becomes self-reliant in defence. But it also needs to ensure that its supply chains are in friendly countries and trusted geographies. 

“Defence preparedness cannot depend upon fragile or overly concentrated supply chains.”

India’s intention is to build up its defence-industrial base, Singh said. 

Today, there are some 840 large and medium-sized companies with industrial licenses, and 17,000 small companies and startups in the defence sector. Domestic sales are worth Rs 1.78 trillion, and defence exports are at a record of about Rs 38,000 crore.

“Our intention is to codevelop, coproduce and co-own many of our defence technologies with friendly foreign countries, (and) integrate Indian suppliers into global supply chains,” Singh said.

India has become a top supplier of defence items such as ammunition to Europe mainly because of the “rearm Europe initiative”. Indian arms makers have sent at least $872 million worth of ammunition (including artillery and mortar shells) to European countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Most have been imported by 13 countries in eastern and central Europe, according to a recent Bloomberg report that cited the Trade Data Monitor’s sourcing of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data. Before that India exported such items worth more than $49 million.  

India and the European Union announced their first comprehensive security and defence partnership alongside concluding negotiations for a free-trade agreement in January. France is a leading supplier of up-end defence goods to India. The country’s bilateral defence ties also extend to West Asia and Africa.