2025 To Be Year of Reforms, Says Defence Ministry

India’s Defence Ministry has officially declared 2025 as “the year of defence reforms.” Thereby, laying the groundwork for an extensive transformation of the armed forces. The main goal of these reforms is the rollout of the integrated theatre commands. These nine point reforms will result in greater synergy among the armed forces. It will also transform our military into a technologically advanced and a self reliant force, capable of addressing the challenges of the 21st century.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced this decision post a high level meeting with the secretaries of the Ministry of defence. Some of the reforms

Integrated Theatre Command

This flagship initiative aims at unifying the capabilities of the armed forces i.e., Indian air force, navy and army in a single operational framework. Under this, each theatre command will include units from every branch of the military to jointly address security issues.

Currently, the services are run under separate command orders, which results in duplication of resources. In order to guarantee smooth multi-domain operations, the theaterisation model aims to eradicate inefficiencies and maximise resource utilisation.

Simplified Acquisitions

Making defence acquisition processes simpler is a major component of the reform agenda. In order to facilitate quicker capability development, the goal is to make the process more transparent and efficient. Various measures will be implemented to facilitate technology transfer, enhance ease of doing and to promote knowledge sharing among the defence services.

Technological Advancement

Recognising the 21st century security challenges, the defence minister, highlighted the need for modernizing our defence service. The proposed reforms will focus on developing our robotics, use of A.I. and hypersonic systems etc.

Defence Production

Another important agenda of the reforms is to position India as a net exporter of defence products. In this regard, the ministry plans to promote greater collaborations between Indian industries and foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It also aims to boost research and development in this sector.

Overall, the reforms aim to promote and develop indigenous defense production capabilities in India. These reforms will not only lead to modernization of defense services but will also make us more self reliant.