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February-March 2023
Volume 20 No. 1
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Indian army day special AN SP GUIDE
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>> EXCLUSIVE Chief of the Army Staff
In This Issue Page 4 Army Chief Press Conference
Message I wish to compliment “SP Guide Publications” for publishing a special issue on the occasion of The Army Day. The edition provides the readers a comprehensive and informative insight into Indian Army’s achievements over the years.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande addressed a press conference ahead of the Army Day on January 15, summarising the year and the current scenario Neetu Dhulia Page 5 Defence Budget 2023-2024
This momentous occasion also provides us an opportunity to apprise about the large number of transformative changes that are underway to make the Indian Army strong and more capable of facing multiple challenges, across the full spectrum of conflict. The Indian Army is well poised to leverage niche technologies and transform into a modern, technologically empowered, Atmanirbhar and responsive fighting force capable of winning future wars with indigenous solutions. Along with the other Services, the Army is moving towards achieving greater inter- agency synergy, jointness and integration while maintaining the highest level of operational preparedness. I wish the team of ‘SP Guide Publications’ all the very best in their future endeavours. May you continue to engage military minds with fervour and passion. ‘Jai Hind’
(Manoj Pande) General Chief of the Army Staff
The Defence Budget 2023-2024 is `5.94 lakh crore, an increase of about 12.5 per cent over last year Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd) Page 6 2022: A Tumultuous Year As curtains fall on 2022, here is a snapshot of the year gone by and the changed geopolitical world that it leaves behind Major General Atanu K. Pattanaik (Retd) Page 8 Missile Systems Procurement All the proposals for procurement of missile systems are under the Buy (IndianIDDM) category Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd) Plus 75th Army Day Celebration
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News in Brief / Appointment
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“We are not ‘Downsizing’ but ‘Rightsizing’ our Army” In an interview with Jayant Baranwal, Editor-in-Chief, SP’s Land Forces, covering a wide range of subjects, General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff, talks about how the Indian Army is developing its capability and operational readiness to meet the continuous challenges facing them across the spectrum of conflict SP’s Land Forces (SP’s): First of all, heartiest felicitations for the celebrations of 75 years of our country’s independence. The environment in our country has been so much heartening and logically unique too. Can you indicate some 5 Top Milestones of our Army since independence? Chief of the Army Staff (COAS): I think it would be inappropriate to limit the achievements of the Indian Army to just five points. In order to be more contemporary, I will encapsulate what we have done in the past year. India is perhaps the only country in the world which faces two adversaries along its borders. The unsettled borders extend over varied terrain from vast plains, jungles, des-
erts, mountainous to heavily glaciated terrain. Hence, the spectrum is vast and offers numerous challenges. Our troops, our organisation, our equipment, our strategy and our tactics, enables us to continuously evolve to the emerging threats and challenges. Our operational preparedness is primarily focussed on India’s desire to ensure stability & dominance along our contested & hostile borders and to effectively counter Proxy War. To retain operational readiness & combat edge, we constantly monitor and review the emerging & future threats to our National security. Our operational requirements continue to guide our procurement of emerging technologies, which act as force multipliers, providing us the much-
needed combat edge over the adversaries. A new paradigm of recruiting soldiers into the Indian Armed Forces has been initiated with the start of the Agniveer programme. This marks a major milestone for the Indian Army as we intend our organisation to transition from a manpowerintensive to a technologically-enabled and capabilities-oriented one. To promote gender empowerment and neutrality, we have increased the intake of women by opening up the Sainik Schools, Military Schools, RIMC and NDA for them and expanding their promotion avenues in competitive exams such as DSSC. Indian Army has also started inducting women soldiers into the Corps
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