New training pattern, better facilities: Key decisions at Army commanders' conference

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) The Indian Army has taken some key decisions to enhance its training and infrastructure facilities during its commanders' conference here.

According to the Ministry of Defence, in the technical entry scheme (TES) in the Army for entry of officers, it was decided to transit from the existing 1+3+1 years TES model to 3 + 1 TES model from January 2024 onwards. The training initiatives to optimise on infrastructure, time and resources to maintain an effective and lethal fighting force were widely deliberated upon.

Simulator training is also planned in the Army to be given a significant push through procurement of 435 simulators at an estimated cost of Rs 791 crore this year. The changes will also accrue benefits of the availability of more number of officers in the units and address officers' shortages, the defence ministry officials added.

The latest edition of Army Commanders Conference was organised for the first time in a hybrid model from April 17-21. It saw deliberations over wide-ranging Strategic, Training, Human Resource Development, and Administrative aspects and took key decisions in shaping the Army for the future. Progress on efficient implementation of the Agnipath Scheme was deliberated upon in detail during this conference.

The work for construction of Thal Sena Bhawan at Delhi Cantt. which commenced in March was highlighted duirng the conference. The work once completed in 2025 will not only address the shortage of office spaces but enhance the operational and functional efficiency of the Army HQ by bringing all the directorates under one roof. The state of the art building will incorporate a robust, technologically advanced architecture and will be smart, green and future-ready project, the ministry of defence added.

In order to harness the indomitable spirit and never say die attitude of the soldiers who suffer battle and physical casualties, it was decided to identify and train selected motivated soldiers for Paralympic Events by training them at Army Sports and Mission Olympic Nodes in nine sporting events.

The welfare of soldiers is an abiding responsibility of the leadership and the organisation. In a significant step towards welfare of specially-abled children of those soldiers who die in harness, it was decided to double the sustenance allowance to such children through AGIF.

The Army Commanders and other senior functionaries took stock of the current and emerging security scenarios and reviewed the operational preparedness and readiness of the Indian Army.

The forum reviewed the pan-India, quantified progress on the ongoing transformational initiatives in the key domains of Force Structuring and Optimisation, Modernisation and Technology Infusion, Processes and Functions, Human Resources Management, and Jointness and Integration as part of 'Year of Transformation' announced in January 2023.

The Defence Ministries said that the Apex leadership also identified specific areas and actionable points for promoting jointness and integration with other services and government agencies. A number of welfare measures and initiatives were decided to be implemented for troops as well as veterans during the conference.

With rapid migration towards net centricity, which entails an increased reliance on modern communication systems, the forum reviewed the requirement to safeguard the networks and decided to operationalise Command Cyber Operations and Support Wings (CCOSW) in the immediate future.

In order to augment the capabilities of the forces by absorption of Niche Technologies and equipment, it was decided to nominate Lead Directorates and 'Test Bed' Formations to evolve optimal employment philosophies and scaling to facilitate better exploitation Pan Army, officials added.

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