“ENHANCING defence capability through self-reliance is the only way to becoming a global leader. Today, India’s rise in a ‘non-threatening’ manner and as a responsible power has been acknowledged by the world community,” said General Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on Saturday. General Pande, who hails from Nagpur, was delivering the keynote address in the Zero Mile Samvad Summit at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Nagpur. “Today, India has a voice on the world stage that is distinct, rooted in Indian ethos and effective in articulating concerns of the Global South. The growth in India’s status in the world, brings with it recognition, additional responsibilities, opportunities as well as challenges. As a nation, we need to ensure that our national interests remain paramount,” stressed General Pande adding, “We need to ensure right strategic balance. Achieving it, may not necessarily serve our interests. That requires us to become a nation strong enough to defend our interests in expanding strategic horizons,” he said.

 

The General Officer, who is the Colonel Commandant of The Bombay Sappers, is the 29th Chief of the India Army. Addressing youth leaders and students, General Pande stressed that technology has become the new strategic arena of competition. It is being leveraged for weaponisation of a multitude of domains — ranging from information to supply chains. Non-state actors are increasingly gaining access to modern technologies of military use and employing it for asymmetric leverage in conflict. Due to all this battle space has become more complex, contested and lethal, the General said adding that national security is the ability of a nation to protect and preserve its independence, integrity and sovereignty against external and internal threats and promotion of its political, economic and social growth. Underlining the need for Armed Forces to remain cognisant about the current and evolving geo-political landscape, General Pande stated that we need to align ourselves with geopolitical contest with same speed and manner.

 

Praising India’s economic growth, General Pande said, “Our economic growth is on a firm footing. Unlike many nations, we were able to brave the economic downturns of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict.” “The outcome of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, will itself redefine relations, and hierarchy amongst nations. It will give a new shade to world politics in the coming decades,” the Army chief predicted. “Multi domain war fronts include Space, Cyber, Electromagnetic Spectrum and Information, are today inescapable realities. The growing dependency on Cyber domain in critical national infrastructure and systems has resulted in it emerging as a new battleground of digital confrontation. We have to equip ourselves for this cyber confrontation,” stressed the General.

 

General Pande mentioned about the launch of PM GatiShakti during his speech. “With launch of PM GatiShakti and National Logistics Policy, the Indian Army has aligned its infrastructure requirements with the national logistic requirements.” A defence portal for GatiShakti has been created and 300 infrastructure projects have been identified for dual purpose, which include four strategic tunnels and strategic railway lines, informed the General. Earlier, General Pande was felicitated with C P Gurnani, Chairman, Board of Governance, IIM Nagpur; and Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Nagpur. Other Generals of Indian Army and resource persons were also present during the General Pande’s address.