Rajnath Singh addresses top military leadership in Lucknow; commends invaluable contribution

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday addressed the apex leadership of the Indian Armed Forces at the Joint Commanders’ Conference and commended their invaluable contribution to safeguarding national interests.

“Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the apex leadership of the Indian Armed Forces on Day 2 of JCC 2024 in Lucknow. He commended their invaluable contribution to safeguarding our national interests and realising the vision of AtmanirbharBharat,” the Ministry of Defence, Government of India stated.

The Joint Commanders’ Conference, with the theme ‘Sashakt aur Surakshit Bharat : Transforming the Armed Forces’, held at Headquarters, Central Command in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, from September 4 and 5, 2024.

The first Joint Commanders’ Conference (JCC) commenced at Lucknow on Wednesday. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan alongwith Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Choudhari led the convocation which brings together the apex-level hierarchy from the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces.

Reviewing the current security situation and the defence preparedness of the Armed Forces, the CDS emphasized the importance of Jointness and future plans for enhancing integration across various domains, which is crucial for adapting to the contours of future warfare and conduct of effect-based operations.

Gen Anil Chauhan complimented the three Services for initiating numerous measures along the roadmap for integration. He stressed that it was a step by step process, beginning with Cross Service Co-operation leading to a ‘Joint Culture’ and finally achieving integration of forces for conduct of joint operations, as per the release.

Deliberations also focused on the establishment of command and control centres with the requisite infrastructure to facilitate decision making. General Chauhan stressed the need for operational preparedness to meet emerging challenges, underscoring the imperative need of modernisation to stay ready and relevant and achieve strategic autonomy.

It provides an opportunity for the commanders to review modernisation plans of the Armed Forces and discuss ways to improve the nation’s defence capability through jointness and enhanced synergy among the three services.