The first joint commanders conference of the army , under the theme ‘Strong and Secure India: Transformation in Armed Forces’, began in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. This conference focuses on creating future strategies to adapt India’s military forces to the changing operational environment.
The conference of top officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces was led by India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (cds anil chauhan). He was accompanied by Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Choudhary.
While reviewing the current security situation and defence preparedness of the armed forces, CDS Chauhan emphasised the importance of jointness and future planning to enhance integration across various domains, which is crucial to adapt to the contours of future warfare and conduct effects-based operations.
General Anil Chauhan praised the three services for initiating several measures with a roadmap for integration. He emphasised that it was a step-by-step process, starting with cross-service cooperation and then moving towards a ‘joint culture’ that finally led to the integration of forces for conducting joint operations.
The deliberations also focused on establishing command and control centres with requisite infrastructure to facilitate decision making. General Chauhan emphasised the need for operational preparedness to meet emerging challenges, underscoring the need for modernisation to remain ready and relevant and achieve strategic autonomy.