MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ( INDIAN ARMY) - YEAR END REVIEW 2023

INDIAN ARMY

 

• Operational Preparedness: The Indian Army maintained high state of preparedness and ensured stability & dominance along all the frontiers including Line of Actual Control (LAC) and Line of Control (LC). Relentless Counter Terrorist operations were also carried out while maintaining high training standards and constantly reviewing emerging & future threats to national security.
• Northern Borders. As part of diplomatic and military efforts concerning ongoing standoff along the LAC, 20 rounds of Corps Commander Level Meetings and 14 related Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) Meetings have been held.  Both sides have agreed to maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms. Indian Army has exercised the established border mechanisms to maintain peace and tranquillity along the LAC in all sectors.
• LoC & Counter-Terrorist Ops: Post Directorate Generals Military Operation understanding of February 2021, situation along the Line of Control has significantly improved compared to pre-understanding violence levels. Relentless operations conducted in synergy with other agencies resulted in successful & incident-free conduct of international and national level events such as G-20 meetings and Amarnath Yatra with 4.45 Lakh yatris visiting the shrine. Jammu and Kashmir has recorded the arrival of more than two crore tourists up to November 2023, which is much beyond the number in year 2022. Synergised counter-terrorist operations also resulted in elimination of 34 terrorists and apprehension of four terrorists in the hinterland. 18 infiltration bids were eliminated on LC in which 36 terrorists were killed besides recovery of large war-like stores.
• North East: The balanced posture of firm & compassionate outlook by the Indian Army & Assam Rifles in militancy affected North Eastern part of the country is evident through both tangible & intangible outcomes. This is reflected by results in operations against militant groups, mainstreaming of militants and the critical decision of the Government of India to reduce areas under Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA-1958). Since January 01, 2023, synergised efforts by Army, Assam Rifles and State Police have resulted in neutralisation of three cadres, apprehension of 233 cadres, surrender by 186 cadres of various militant groups and recovery of 271 weapons of different types. Security Forces are also continuing with the earnest endeavour to reduce the drug menace in the region. Indian Army along with Assam Rifles, Police & Civil administration, have successfully recovered narcotics & contraband worth Rs 1,567.55 crore during the year in the hinterland as well as India-Myanmar Border.
• Manipur: Indian Army and Assam Rifles have played a key role in controlling the internal security situation in Manipur and saving precious lives, property and evacuating approximately 35,000 internally displaced population to safety. Security Forces have been assisting the civil administration and other security agencies with a neutral and transparent approach to restore peace and normalcy in the State.

 Year of Transformation

• 2023 is the Year of Transformation for the Indian Army. The process of transformation hinges on the five pillars- ‘Force Structuring & Optimisation’, ‘Modernisation & Technology Infusion’, ‘Systems, Processes & Functions’, ‘Human Resource Management’ and ‘Jointness & Integration’.

 

Force Restructuring & Optimisation.  

 

• Efforts towards jointness and integration preceding Theaterisation are being made with renewed impetus.
• Reorganisation of Early Warfare (EW) and Electronic Intelligence units under EW Brigades is formalised. Raising of additional EW Battalions is under progress.
• Reorganisation of Surveillance and Target Acquisition (SATA) units is underway.
• Outsourcing of Non-Core Services is under progress to realign combat manpower for core tasks.

 

Modernisation & Technology Infusion:   A roadmap has been put in place for Upgrades, New Acquisitions & infusion of Niche technology. The right balance between ‘Conventional’ and ‘New’ capabilities is being maintained. A focussed approach is being followed to ensure timely & pragmatic trials.

 

• Conclusion of 85 Capital Contracts:  A total of 85 Capital Contracts worth Rs 12,343 crore have been concluded in current Financial Year. This will boost the Capability of Indian Army in the domain of mobilisation, firepower, communication/non communication, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) & Drone/Counter-Drone Systems.
• Induction of Niche Technology through iDEX: Four Projects worth Rs 70 crore have been contracted this year, thereby paving the way for the induction of Niche Tech in communication, ISR & stealth Technology. It is also a step towards providing impetus in developments favourable to defence eco system.
• Exploiting 5G/6G and Artificial Intelligence: Indian Army has collaborated with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to develop advanced electronics and infrastructure, aligning with Digital India and Make in India initiatives. 5G laboratories have been established at various locations including Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE). In addition, Military grade 5G and 6G laboratories are being established at various locations. MCTE has been developed as a key Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence.
• Emergency Procurements: The EP were utilised to augment capability along the Northern and Western Front besides catering for training aggregates. The equipment procured under the EP are being fully exploited by field formations to refine their operational philosophy, TTPs and maintenance support requirements. In Financial Years 2020-22, 68 projects, worth Rs 6,592 crore were procured while 73 projects, worth Rs 11,000 crore have been procured in the Financial Years 2022-24.
• Impetus to Make in India: Indian Army has given stimulus to Make in India initiatives and provided platforms to indigenous defence industries to showcase their capabilities to friendly foreign countries. Following efforts have been made: -

 

• A Mini Defence Expo was conducted in Tanzania in October 2023 during the visit of the COAS (19 Defence Industries participated).
• Defence Expo, Seminars and visit to Defence Industries were coordinated during multilateral engagements in India. 26 Indian defence Industries including start-ups participated in the equipment display exhibition conducted at Manekshaw Centre during IPACC in Sep 2023.
• Army-to-Army Staff Talks (AAST) are being conducted in Defence Industrial Hubs with the aim of showcasing the capabilities of indigenous Def Industries: -
• AAST with Vietnam was conducted in Pune in March 2023.
• AAST with Thailand was conducted in Secunderabad in September 2023.

System, Processes & Functions: The following has been achieved under the pillar of System, Processes & Functions:

 

• Efforts have been focussed on Right-sizing and Ease of Doing Business: Digital initiatives have been undertaken in a major way to effect improved efficiencies in domains of Operational Enablement.
• National Logistics Policy & PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan: The Indian Army has been an important partner in the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan and formulation of NLP. Efforts have been made to align initiatives undertaken by the Indian Army to the national vision. 180 Officers have been trained on Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) Karmayogi platform and additional training with BISAG-N is being planned. A Tri- Services Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Infrastructure Portal akin to PM Gati Shakti is being created under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.
• SPARSH: As part of digitisation and making the benefits more accessible, SPARSH has been adopted by the new pensioners as approximately 95% of legacy pensioners have migrated to SPARSH. SPARSH is an internet-based fully automated project outsourced by CGDA for sanction, computation, revision and disbursement of pension. The objective of the project is ‘Right Pension to Right Person at Right Time’ through a single source i.e. PCDA(P) by delinking banks, Defence Pension Disbursing Offices and other pension disbursing agencies.

 

Human Resource Management:

 

• Making Short Service Commission more attractive: Given the global trends and rightsizing initiatives, the IA is attempting to make SSC more attractive. Draft Cabinet Note based on Tri-Services proposal to make SSC attractive has been prepared.
• Women in Indian Army: The Indian Army is completely committed towards promoting gender neutrality. Following have been the major achievements in this field:
• • The induction of Women Officers (WOs) in the Regiment of Artillery is under progress. 10 Women officers were commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery during 2023.
• • The process for induction of WOs in Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) commenced in March 2023.  Four WOs have been inducted into RVC this year.
• • 30 Army Girl Cadets are under training in National Defence Academy.
• • Study on Induction of women as JCOs/ OR in Arms & Services is underway.
• • First Woman Officer got operationally deployed in Kumar Post, Siachen Glacier in January 2023.

 

• Command by Women Officers: The command of units by Women Officers has commenced. This has tremendous potential and all efforts are on to ensure that this opportunity is capitalised by adequate guidance and support.
• Participation by JCOs/NCOs in Foreign Courses: As a new initiative, the participation of JCOs/ NCOs in foreign courses has been enhanced from erstwhile 2-3 vacancies to 13-14 vacancies now. The majority of these course vacancies are in the UK, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal & Philippines. The focus has been on enhancing expertise and skills in Military Special Domain (Sniper, Jungle Warfare, Commando and Combat Training).
• Agnipath Scheme.  First two batches (40,000) have completed their training and are under posting to allotted units. Agniveers (include 100 women) underwent training at 40 Regimental Centres & Training Centres in two groups. Training for 20,000 Agniveers of 3^rd Batch commenced with effect from 1^st November 23 and for 4^th Batch will commence soon. The feedback of the first two batches is encouraging and the trainees have met the desired standards. To make Agniveers responsible citizens of the nation, apart from Personal Development Programme (PDP) basic foundation course and info tech has been included as part of Basic Military Training (BMT).
• ECHS Network Expansion: The ECHS has gained credibility with time and has grown both in size and stature with 30 Regional Centres and 433 Polyclinics pan India and 58 lakh beneficiaries, including Gorkha Domiciles for Nepal. Efforts are being made to enhance its efficacy and reach through the empanelment of more hospitals.
• Veerangana Sewa Kendra: VSK, operationalised in November 2022, was launched by IA as a proactive single window facility for info-dissemination, query response and grievances-redress for widows & Next of Kin. The project leverages digital technology in connecting various stakeholders on a common digital platform. The system provides Widows/ Next of Kin, multiple means for approaching VSK through tele call, SMS, WhatsApp, Post, e-mail and walk-ins to seek assistance. It has been a huge success.
• Placements by Army Welfare Placement Organisation. In the last five years, the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO) has successfully placed 1,439 officers, 15,332 JCOs & 74,982 Other Ranks in various education institutes, autonomous bodies and government/ semi-government organisations.
• Jointness & Integration: Jointness and integration was pursued by Indian Army in the right earnest in close coordination with Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
• A Common Operational Planning Process has been initiated for synergised planning with operations.
• Cross-postings have commenced on a reciprocal basis.

 

• • In Operational vacancies, 40 officers have been posted to Indian Air Force and Indian Navy establishments. 21 officers have been posted to Indian Air Force and 19 officers to Indian Navy billets.
  • In Staff vacancies, two Brigadiers and eight Colonels have been posted to Indian Air Force & Indian Navy billets.
  • In Instructional vacancies, nine officers are to be posted in Training Institute in the Indian Air Force (five) & Indian Navy (four).

 

• Cross-attachment of officers for a limited period with Station Headquarters and Command Headquarters of other services is being planned to understand the modalities of functioning of sister services.
• Common Annual Confidential Report for Major General and above rank officers have been instituted.
• Three Joint Logistic Nodes have been established and process to establish four more Nodes is under progress.
• Indian Army has offered sharing of seats for wards of Indian Air Force & Indian Navy in Indian Army Schools and Colleges.
• Initiatives for the development of Common Digital Maps & Geo-Ref System are underway.
• Process of establishing Joint Communication Structures has been initiated.
• Cross-utilisation of common station facilities is under progress. Process for common outsourcing is also being worked out in consultation with Indian Air Force & Indian Navy.

 

Defence Diplomacy

• Cooperation activities: In keeping with India's rising global stature in recent years, there has been a considerable increase in Defence Co-operation activities undertaken by the Indian Army. Accordingly, an increasing number of friendly countries have shown keen interest to engage with the Indian Army, which is the world's second-largest standing Army with extensive combat experience and exemplary training standards. As on date, Indian Army is engaging with 110 countries through defence cooperation activities.
• Joint Exercises: The Indian Army is participating in 39 exercises, out of which Indian Army is lead Service in 28 exercises. Keeping in mind the impetus on jointmanship and the impending theatre-isation, eight Indian Army lead exercises have been converted to Bi-Service & six to Tri-Services format.
• IPACC, IPAMS & SELF: Indian Army has undertaken efforts to enhance collective understanding of common challenges in Indo-Pacific Region, exchange ideas and development strong relationship built upon shared democratic valves and growing convergences on bilateral, regional & global issues. Indian Army and US Army co-hosted the 13^th Indo- Pacific Armies Chiefs Conference (IPACC), 47^th Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS) and 9^th Senior Enlisted Leaders Forum (SELF) in September. Thirty countries participated in the event and an unprecedented number of 18 countries were represented by Chiefs of their respective Armies and 12 countries were represented by Heads of Delegation.

 

Multilateral Engagements/ Activities:   Indian Army has been playing a crucial role in promoting multilateralism. Some of the efforts undertaken in the past year include:

 

• Promote India’s leadership for Global South and strategic Partnership with Africa.
• Conduct of Inaugural India- Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave (IACC) at Pune in Mar 2023 - participation by 31 countries.
• Conduct of AFINDEX (2023) themed on Humanitarian Mine Action & Peace Keeping Operations in Pune in March 2023 - 124 participants from 26 countries participated. 

 

Shaping Strategic Environment: Indian Army is at the forefront in boosting defence diplomacy to shape the strategic environment. In the past one year, six high level visits were conducted to strategically important countries including Australia, Egypt, Bangladesh, UK, Tanzania and Republic of Korea. These visits have resulted in fruitful discussions and have provided an impetus to India’s image. Bilateral meetings with senior leadership and military hierarchy of strategically important countries have assisted in pursuit of Defence Diplomacy objectives.

 

Reorganisation & Establishment of Additional Defence Wings: Aligning with the present strategic environment, reorganisation of Defence Wings has also been carried out. Post the completion of Study on Realignment of Defence Wings, four new Defence Wings are being establishment at Algeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Poland by end of 2024.

 

French Bastille Day Parade: Indian Army contingent led the Tri-Services marching contingent participating in the Bastille Day Parade 2023 at Paris in France. Contingent of Punjab Regiment along with band of Rajputana Rifles Centre participated in the event, which was witnessed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as the Chief Guest. This was the second representation of Indian Army in Bastille Day Parade after 2009.

 

Contribution in Nation Building

 

• Mission Amrit Sarovar: Indian Army is contributing towards the initiative of Mission Amrit Sarovar having created 450 ponds. 75 ponds are being created or resuscitated by each Regional Commands.
• Adoption of Millets in Ration: In consonance with declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets, Indian Army has taken measures to adopt millets in ration. Approval was accorded for issue of millet flour upto 25 percent (Bajra, Jowar & Ragi at 10:10:05 respectively) of Wheat Atta whole Meal/ Rice authorised in the existing scale of ration. Procurement has commenced and millets flour is now being issued to all ranks.
• Vidyanjali Initiative:           134 Army Public Schools have adopted at least one Government/ Government aided school in their vicinity that would be part of the mentor-mentee program. Total 160 schools have been adopted under this initiative. The areas in which assistance is being provided are as under:

• Soft skill development including cross visit by teachers and volunteer parents.
• Training of teachers, especially to develop foundation literacy and imbibe technology in teaching and learning processes.
• Exposure of staff and children of the adopted schools to various Army Welfare Education Society initiatives like Inclusive Education, Gifted Children Program, Building Scientific Temper (Atal Tinkering Labs, Space and Mathematics Laboratories) and Art Integration.
• Joint participation in Sports, Debates and other Extra Co-curricular activities.
• Exposure to Skill Integration, Project Based and Technology Aided Learning.
• Share Best Practices and Hand Holding through use of Digital Resources.

 

• Operation Dost: Indian Army Field Hospital, comprising 99 persons including various Specialists and Paramedics, established a Disaster Relief Hospital at Iskenderun, Hatay Province, Turkey in February 2023. The hospital consisted of an Operation Theatre and Trauma Care Centre. The Specialists (Medical, Surgical, Anaesthetists, Ortho, Maxillofacial and Community Med) rendered medical assistance to earthquake victims. Beside this, a Woman Medical Officer was also sent to render medical care to female patients/ casualties. This HADR action by Indian Army earned huge positive sentiment enhancing our national image.
• HADR Operations: Based on requisition received from civil administration, Indian Army deployed 107 columns (including 18 Engineer Task Forces) in 13 states of the country for Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief till date in 2023.  A total of 8,509 individuals were rescued in such operations.  Details are as under:

 

Ser No	Type of Aid	State	Columns Deployed	Civilian Rescued
(a)	Flood Relief Ops	Assam	02	160
(b)		Uttarakhand	01	22
(c)		West Bengal	01	69
(d)		Maharashtra	01	36
(e)		Himachal Pradesh	11	343
(f)		Punjab	29	6989
(g)		Haryana	05	324
(h)		Gujarat	01	12
(j)		J&K	Evacuation of 59 yatris
(k)		Delhi	02	Asst at WHO Building & ITO Barrage
(l)	Rescue of civilians trapped in debris of collapsed multi storey buildings, Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	01	14
(m)	Avalanche rescue ops	Sikkim	01	20
(n)	Assistance to stranded tourists at Chungthang	Sikkim	02	393
(o)	Cyclone Biporjoy	Gujarat	45	Restoration of essential service
(p)	Cyclone Michaung	Tamil Nadu	02	232

 

• Project Udbhav: A joint Indian Army and United Service Institution (USI) project for Study on Ancient Indian Strategy Thought & Culture is underway. The public launch of the event was carried out on 21^st October 23. Numerous seminars, panel discussion and research presentations are being conducted as part of the Project. The Project will culminate with a national level event in January 2024 which will also include the release of numerous publications relevant to the topic.