Indian Army Charts Strategic Vision for 2047 Under New COAS General Upendra Dwivedi

New Delhi, India: In a landmark garing, senior leership of Indian Army convened in New Delhi on August 19, 2024, for a crucial two-day strategic dialogue chaired by General Upendra Dwivedi, recently appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This high-level meeting, first under General Dwivedi’s command since he assumed office on June 30, 2024, brought toger General Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs (GOC-in-Cs) of Indian Army’s seven commands to deliberate on Army's future trajectory during India’s Amrit Kaal.

discussions, which will continue through August 20, focused on aligning Army’s strategic initiatives with Government of India’s ambitious Vision 2047—a blueprint aimed at transforming India into a developed nation, a significant global player, and one of most desirable countries to live in by 2047. 

session was a critical opportunity for Army's top brass to engage in comprehensive discussions on how Indian Army can contribute to this national vision. Army’s leership articulated its Vision@2047, underscoring a commitment to evolve into a modern, agile, aptive, technology-enabled, and self-reliant force. This transformation aims to prepare Indian Army to effectively deter and win wars in a multi-domain environment, ensuring protection of national interests in close coordination with or services. 

Defining Goals for Dece of Transformation 

Indian Army’s march into a dece of transformation was initiated with declaration of 2023 as ‘Year of Transformation’ and 2024 as ‘Year of Technology Absorption.’ se initiatives are designed to unify Army's rank and file towards ambitious goals set for coming dece.

senior leership outlined several key objectives that will guide Army's evolution over next ten years, including: 

1. aterisation and Reorganisation: Army plans to undertake a comprehensive reorganisation of its hequarters, commands, and or key formations. This reorganisation includes realigning boundaries of Command, Corps, and Area Hequarters to enhance operational efficiency and reiness. 
2. Infrastructure Development: A significant focus was placed on developing world-class infrastructure to bolster Army's operational capabilities across land, air, cyber, and space domains. 
3. Data-Centric Operations: discussions emphasized importance of leveraging vanced technology to conduct data-centric operations, reby enhancing Army’s existing capabilities and improving decision-making processes. 
4. Capability Development: A detailed romap for upgring mechanised forces, artillery, combat aviation, air defence, and infantry units was discussed. This includes plans to enhance logistics and ammunition infrastructure, and to establish new structures that support multi-domain operations. 
5. Indigenisation and Self-Reliance: General Dwivedi stressed importance of promoting self-reliance within Army by indigenizing equipment, platforms, and weapons. Army’s leership reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Indian defence industries in developing world-class military hardware and facilitating India’s emergence as a leing defence exporter. 

Strategic Discussions and Initiatives

meeting also highlighted several or strategic initiatives that are essential for Army's future reiness: 

• Joint Operations and Integration: Enhancing joint operations and integration between Army, Navy, and Air Force was identified as a crucial step in meeting future challenges of warfare. leership emphasized need for greater synergy among services to ensure a unified and effective response to any threat. 
• Indigenisation Efforts: Army's ongoing efforts to support domestic defence industry were recognized as a key pillar of India’s strategic autonomy. leership committed to furring se efforts, aiming to position India as a global leer in defence exports. 
• Human Resource Development: Army's leership also focused on initiatives aimed at improving quality and effectiveness of personnel across all ranks. Recognizing importance of a well-trained and motivated workforce, discussions included strategies for enhancing training programs and career development opportunities. 

ditional Initiatives

discussions concluded with a review of ongoing initiatives aligned with National Vision, including: 

• Military Education and Training: Indian Army’s leership in military education was underscored, with particular recognition given to Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) as a Center of Excellence. 
• Defence Diplomacy: expansion of India’s Defence Wings, Indian Army’s growing role in United Nations missions, and increased participation in joint exercises with foreign countries were highlighted as vital components of India’s defence diplomacy. 
• Whole of Nation Approach: Army’s involvement in national initiatives like Gati Shakti was discussed, with significant progress reported in identifying and developing dual-use infrastructure to support both civilian and military needs. 
• Healthcare and Education: Army's contributions to national healthcare through ECHS and military hospitals, as well as its role in education and skill development through initiatives like Kaushalveer scheme, were commended. 
• Youth Empowerment and Sports: Army’s efforts in empowering youth through National Cet Corps (NCC) and promoting sports through Mission Olympic initiative were also discussed as key elements of Army's broer societal engagement. 

two-day meeting in New Delhi reaffirmed Indian Army's commitment to evolving into a future-rey force, capable of not only safeguarding national interests but also contributing significantly to vision of Viksit Bharat@2047. Under leership of General Upendra Dwivedi, Indian Army is poised to navigate challenges of future with a focus on modernization, self-reliance, and jointness, ensuring that it remains a formidable and aptive force in years to come.