Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday said that the Indian Army was fit to fight previous wars and that the future would necessitate imbibing technology and a reorganisation.
Speaking to ANI, General Rawat said, "We have got an organisation which will help us fight the previous wars. If we are looking at future wars, they will necessitate imbibing technology, technologies of all kinds. Therefore, we have to reorganise ourselves to ensure that technologies and the weaponry and the man behind the weapon are integrated. But it is more important to imbibe the technology and for doing so, you have to carry out some changes in the organisation and you have to ensure that your men understand the need for technology, only then can you move forward."
Speaking on the reorganisation of the Indian Army, General Rawat said, "We have ordered a study on all these issues. I am not saying that everything that has been told will be incorporated. Some of it might not get even recommended by the study. So let await the final framework of what the studies come out with and whatever then I will discuss with the Army Commanders."
"I already had one discussion. We will continue with this and then I hope that by the end of the year, we are able to come out with some kind of a solution, put it across to the government and explain it to the government our reasons for doing so. And then see how best it can be implemented. Let me tell you, it is not likely to be implemented overnight. It will take time. Even the implementation will have to be spread over a few years. But I think a beginning has to be made and that is what we are looking at," the Army chief added.
General Rawat further lauded the Indian government for their support in upgrading the Army's equipment.
"The government support has been very good. We are having regular Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meetings. Almost every fortnight, we have a DAC meet and in fact, we are under pressure because the Raksha Mantri keeps asking us to put up projects to her to see how we can carry on with our new acquisitions," he said.
The Army Chief stated that although it is not easy to continue with acquisitions, "there is a big push from the Government to help us in modernising our Army."
The biggest-ever organisational study to review and transform the Indian Army into a futuristic lethal warfighting machine is expected to be completed by December this year.
The study will review personnel and the organisational structure and explore whether the present practice is sustainable for the Indian Army's future requirements.
The ambit of the fleeting study broadly includes - 1) Reorganisation of the Indian Army; 2) Review of Army Headquarter; 3) Cadre review for officers (being done after the AV Singh Committee report, 2001); and 4) Review of terms of engagement. Each study is being conducted by a team of 25 members which is headed by senior Lieutenant Generals.
A major review of the study will be taking place in October during the Army Commanders Conference.
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