Times they're a changin: Why Army should be a less manpower-intensive force

The Army is also drawing lessons from the navy, which kept its numbers at just 71,600, and consequently has 46 per cent of its budget available for equipment

Army chief General Bipin Rawat brainstormed with his top generals in Delhi this week, seeking a consensus on reforms to make the Army a less manpower-intensive force.
 
It is learnt that most commanders are on board with what one described, “The Army’s most ambitious reforms attempt since Independence.”
 
India’s military has not changed radically since 1947, despite two waves of reforms. The first followed the 1962 defeat at the hands of China and involved raising mountain divisions for the Himalayan frontier. Then, in the 1980s, two thinking Army chiefs — Generals KV Krishna Rao and K Sundarji —