: With the top brass of the tri-services huddled together over two days at Lucknow to discuss, among other issues, theaterisation of command, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the commanders to evolve “joint military vision” and prepare for challenges the country may face in future wars.

The proposed three theatre commands for China, Pakistan and Indian Ocean Region came up for discussion at the maiden Joint Commanders Conference in Lucknow which ended on Thursday.

Prepared by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, a presentation was also made to the Defence Minister to get his concurrence before it’s placed before the PMO’s clearance, said sources in the defence establishment.

While the Northern Command to face off exigencies from China will be based out of Lucknow, the Western Command will be in Jaipur for Pakistan, and the only maritime theatre will be established in Thiruvananthapuram, it has been proposed.

As of the now, the Indian Air Force has its Southern Command in Thiruvananthapuram and the Army’s South-Western Command is in Jaipur.

Radical reorganisation

The radical reorganisation proposed will override existing 17 single-service commands and two tri-services commands. Of this, Army and IAF have seven each individual service commands, and the Navy has three.

The MoD said deliberations at the conference spanned across a broad spectrum of contemporary issues such as theaterisation but did not offer insight into the radical reorganisation of tri-services proposed for the first time post Independence.

Indigenisation and technological developments including those in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence enabled autonomous weapon systems too were discussed at the apex level meeting.

Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh in his address at the conference, stated that India is a peace loving nation and the armed forces need to be prepared for war in order to preserve peace.

He stressed upon the significance of evolving joint military vision and preparing for the type of challenges the country may face in future wars, while emphasising on synergised, swift and proportionate response to provocations, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The theme of the conference was ‘Sashakt aur Surakshit Bharat : Transforming the Armed Forces’.

Referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts and the current situation in Bangladesh, the Minister exhorted the commanders to analyse these episodes, predict the problems that the country may face in the future, and stay prepared to deal with the “unexpected”, the Ministry stated.

He emphasised on the need of a broader and deeper analysis by the top military leadership in view of the situation along the northern border and the happenings in neighbouring countries, which are posing a challenge to peace and stability in the region.

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