New army chief General Dhiraj Seth on Wednesday underscored the need to speed up the modernisation of the force to prepare for future conflicts and spelt out his five priorities under the acronym “VIJAY”.
Underlining that the army is a combat-ready and battle-hardened force, he said that to respond effectively to the evolving security environment, modernisation of the army with renewed energy and firm resolve was the need of the hour.
“Our aim is to build a technology-enabled, future-ready army which is fully empowered and capable of operating across multiple domains,” he said in his first address to the media after being accorded the guard of honour on the lawns of the South Block. General Seth took charge as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff on Tuesday.
His appointment comes at a crucial time when the army, facing a manpower shortage, has plans to procure assault rifles, surveillance drones and body armour to bolster its combat prowess. A large part of it is deployed along the India-China and India-Pakistan frontiers. Last year, senior officials had emphasised the need to modernise the armed forces after the military conflict with Pakistan.
“VIJAY”, the army chief said, stands for “Vigilance, Innovation and Transformation, Jointness and Integration, Atmanirbharta, and Yodha”. He said these priorities cover the entire gamut of tasks he had set out for the army.
“We will maintain constant vigilance along our borders and against emerging threats. We will also ensure a high level of operational readiness to respond effectively to any challenge to national security.
“My focus will be on innovation in both doctrine and technological solutions. Innovation will remain an integral part of our thinking, our systems and our capability development. At the same time, necessary transformations will be undertaken in keeping with the changing character of warfare,” he said.
Explaining the need for jointness and integration, General Seth said the army would maintain complete synergy and coordination with the air force and navy to enhance its operational effectiveness. The army chief said that with indigenous capabilities and technologies developed within the country, “we must build a self-reliant army”.
“The overall aim will be to win our wars with indigenous solutions,” General Seth said. The letter “Y”, he said, stands for Yodha First, and everyone — from Agniveers to the senior-most officer, is a yodha (warrior). “These yodhas are the greatest strength of our army. Enhancing the technological threshold and training standards of our soldiers will be among my foremost priorities,” he said.