New Delhi, Feb 19 :
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday shed light on the evolving role of the Indian Army in the country and stressed its pivotal role in nation-building alongside its primary defence responsibilities.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said that the Indian Army’s responsibilities go beyond securing borders and defence duties, and emphasised its active participation in the country’s journey towards becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat.’
“Nations-building is our equal responsibility,” Gen Dwivedi said, underscoring the army’s growing role in ensuring the country’s progress.
Reflecting on the evolution of army-civilian relations, Gen Dwivedi pointed out that historically, military cantonments were located in isolated areas to avoid interaction with the local population. However, he stressed that the Indian Army is a part of the larger national fabric.
“It is Indian Army, and its role is to contribute to a Viksit Bharat (developed India),” he said.
On matters of emergency, General Dwivedi expressed clear directives for swift action.
In the case of stampedes or other crises, he emphasised that the army should not wait for formal calls for help. Furthermore, along the northern border, he instructed that the army should be proactive, covering 100 km of the border area to ensure prompt response in cases where civil administration may be delayed.
Gen Dwivedi reaffirmed that the Indian Army’s role is intertwined with the vision of a secure, developed, and prosperous India.
The army chief explained how military writers often write about the fall back on the Indian army, and how they are pulled in for civilian strife in cases of emergency, and whether it diverts their resources from their primary work.
“In earlier days during the times of pre-Independence, the cantonments used to be in isolated areas, because they didn’t want the army to interact with the local population. Over a period of time we have to see who’s army is it. It is Indian army, what is the role of the Indian army, its role is to become a part of the Viksit Bharat,” Gen Dwivedi said.
“If the country has to become a 30 trillion dollar economy, and you want the human development index to increase, the infrastructure
Nation-building is
development to take place with a secure environment, environmental conservation, and so forth, the Indian army has to play a role everywhere,” he said.
In light of the recent stampede incidents, and Indian Army’s preparedness for such incidents, he said, “In cases of stampede, as far as my orders are concerned, you will not wait for a call to help, instead immediately dispatch your services and help. Along the northern front, I have said 100 km along the border, you will immediately react because the distance is more and the civil administration may not able to take stock before calling you but you are already there. Nation-building is our equal responsibility.”
In a forward-looking statement, Upendra Dwivedi highlighted the Indian Army’s potential to play a crucial role in the country’s bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics and to excel in the sporting arena.
He expressed the army’s willingness to contribute significantly to the Mission Olympics 2036, drawing on its existing resources and infrastructure.
Gen Dwivedi pointed to the success of the recent National Games, where the Sports Control Board emerged as the top performer, securing 68 gold medals.
He emphasised that the Indian Army has the necessary infrastructure, including ample space for sports, to support India’s Olympic ambitions.
“We have boys’ and girls’ companies ready for training, and we assure you that we will be part of the journey toward winning medals,” Gen Dwivedi remarked.
He also highlighted the army’s readiness to provide manpower, resources, and even raise territorial army battalions to support the development and execution of the mission.
“The Indian army can play a very important role in Mission Olympics 2036. The National games took place recently, which was the setup that won the most medals? It is the Sports Control Board–68 gold medals, if we start today Indian Army has adequate space for any sports structure which is required to come up,” he said.
However, he stressed that success in this endeavour requires early planning and coordination.
“We will provide the manpower for conducting something like the Mission Olympic 2036, we will give the resources, we will also raise the territorial army battalions for it but for that we need to sit and plan today,” he said, underlining the importance of strategic collaboration to realise India’s Olympic aspirations.
In a candid reflection on his journey to the Indian Army, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi spoke about his early inspiration and the aspirations that shaped his career.
He shared how his childhood was influenced by his family environment, where his father often provided him with books on freedom fighters and World War II, sparking an early interest in the military.
“I remember when my uncle used to bring me notebooks to write, they had pictures of soldiers. The atmosphere in my house always encouraged me to think about something different, something more purposeful,” Gen Dwivedi reminisced.
While his brother chose to pursue a career in medicine and another in engineering, Gen Dwivedi felt a deep calling to serve in the army. Initially aspiring to become an intelligence officer, he ultimately decided to join the army, driven by a sense of duty and passion.
Discussing the qualities that shaped his journey in the armed forces, Gen Dwivedi emphasised three key values of the Indian Army: attitude, adaptability, and ability.
“A positive attitude, the ability to adapt to any situation, and the competence to execute tasks effectively are the foundation of success,” he explained.
Reflecting on his aspirations, Gen Dwivedi shared that he never focused too much on titles or recognition.
“When I joined the National Defence Academy, it instilled discipline, and I had a clear aspiration as a Captain. I wanted to take my unit to great heights when I became a Commanding Officer,” he said, highlighting his commitment to leading by example and fostering excellence within his unit.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday said that the country’s indigenous production capabilities are increasing, including in the field of drones, and the desire is to have 100 pc of equipment production in India eventually, even if it takes a few years.
“See, India follows Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is one family… This and atmanirbharta (self-reliance) both have to combine. Finally, our desire is to have 100 pc equipment production in India. But it doesn’t mean it has to happen today. It can happen after three years, five years, ten years,” Gen Dwivedi told ANI in an exclusive interview.
He said more and more indigenous systems are being produced.
General Dwivedi said that equipment is also being bought from abroad but there is effort to produce alternatives in India.
“As of today, there are 40 companies in India which are making this (loitering munition). And approximately Rs 900 crore worth of equipment has been bought (loitering equipment). Research and Development when you do it, you want to put that cost also as part of the sale price,” he said.
General Dwivedi said the required critical components are bought from abroad ensuring security protocols. “But over a period of time, we are also looking at alternatives to that to be produced in India,” he said.
In a major success for Indigenous weapon systems, the Indian Army received a supply of 480 loitering munitions made by a Nagpur-based defence manufacturing firm with over 75 percent Indigenous content in December last year. The first indigenous Loiter Munition, Nagastra-1 has been developed by Solar Industries in Nagpur.
Loitering munitions are unmanned aerial vehicles which can be used against tanks, other battle equipment and enemy personnel during warfare. Unmanned aerial equipment also helps locate enemy assets.
“Let’s say a hill is in between, so you fire from here, it goes across, sees the tank, and thereafter, you can say, okay, this is the tank you need to destroy,” Gen Dwivedi said.
Answering another query, he said while a “reservist” system is not suitable for the defence forces, the Agniveer scheme works well.
The Government launched Agnipath scheme on June 15, 2022 to recruit both male and female aspirants into ‘below the officer’s rank’ cadre of the three services for a period of four years. Candidates between the age group of 17.5 to 21 years are eligible to apply for the scheme. These Agniveers undergo optimised basic military training and specialised trade training followed by up-skilling courses, as required. About 25 per cent of the personnel inducted are retained for Army service for a further 15 years.
The Army Chief said that Agniveers, when they go back after four years in the Army for other opportunities available to them, including in central armed police forces, they become responsible citizens.
“Earlier, there used to be a system of reservists. Over a period of time we realized reservist is not working that much. Now what is Agniveer? You train for four years, thereafter you are available. Home Minister himself has said that they will be absorbing a large number of Agniveers, even state police forces. It’s a 12 lakh army, also Air force, Navy, CAPFs…as far as the numbers are concerned, we have got adequate. So Agniveer will be an add-on,” he said.
General Dwivedi also spoke about the changes in the pattern of wars over the years.
“There are five generations of warfare, starting from trench warfare. Then we had the machine guns and artillery. Then we have the manoeuvre warfare, the non-state actors came in. The fifth generation is Artificial Intelligence, quantum, and thereafter, cyberspace. In Indian conditions, I have to cater for all five generations. So as you find in the last stage, that the fifth stage which is there, this young generation will play a very important role. The trench warfare is not going away. The machine guns and artillery are not going away. So I have to cater for this also,” General Dwivedi said.
The Chief of Army Staff also stressed the need for availability and access to rare earth minerals used in making chips, which have multifarious uses.
“If it’s a monopoly, what will happen? Denial for others will take place. And denial of facilities and services for others will create a problem for their fighting capability. We are now trying to make sure that we should be Atmanirbhar in these things also. So, it’s high time that the like-minded people should get together and approach those countries that look, we need to carry out trading in this aspect also,” he said.
The Army Chief also touched on the force harnessing use of AI and said that in order to further enhance the connect with the veterans and Veer Naris, a customised bilingual messaging Chatbot SAMBANDH, based on Whatsapp, has been developed
He said this will provide one-on-one communication to capture queries and grievances and also disseminate relevant information.
“As far as AI is concerned, I keep saying that data is very important. First thing what we’re doing is the data is lying in various corners, various headquarters, so we are integrating those data, even if you’re not able to integrate, they should be able to talk to each other. We have reached that stage. Today, I can go in for the predictive analysis, even if it is not new,” he said.
