New Delhi: In a bid to ensure there was no threat to peace initiative in Jammu and
Kashmir, Chief of the Army Staff General NC Vij on January 13 declared that the Army
would adopt stronger counter infiltration measures on the line of control (LoC) and
carry out intensive operations to keep the pressure on terrorists.
Asserting that the Army in recent months had covered a 'reasonable ground" to equip
formations of the Northern Command with ground sensors and other major surveillance
system, he said the "Army would fully support any initiative of the government to
bring about normalcy and improvement in
the state".
In an interview to armed forces newsletter "Sanik Samachar" on the occasion of Army
day on January 15, the Army chief while outlining the new role for the Army in
Kashmir after recent elections said, "We shall work in close conjunction with the
government to win hearts and minds of the people of the state by assisting in civic
actions,"
After prolonged deployment of last year, he said Army would now re-focus on its
modernisation drive and pointed out that assimilation and absorption of the Russian
frontline T-9 tanks were in full swing. Also he said the upgradation of T-72 tanks
and T1 sights for tanks and armoured carriers were on full steam.
Declaring that after "Operation Parkaram," it was time to catch up with the backlog"
for the Army, the new Army chief said, "We want to get back to our primary task of
training and being prepared for war."
He said the focus in modernisation would be on overcoming shortages in equipment,
acquisition of force multipliers and upgradation of weapon systems and platforms to
increase lethality.
"The modernisation of infantry and special forces is high on priority and is planned
to be completed before the end of the 10th Army plan," Vij said.
He said in order to bolster operations in difficult areas and conditions, the army
planned to enhance the capabilities in surveillance, firepower, communications and
protection by inducting additional thermal imagers, radars, modern radio sets and
individual as well as collective troop-protection equipment.
As far as artillery was concerned, the Army Chief said the process of maximisation
was in progress and an apparent pointer to a new agreement reached with the South
African armament giant Denel for manufacture in India of tank mounted 155 mm
artillery guns.
He said as far as Information warfare technology was concerned, the Army had made
rapid progress.
On the troop welfare issue, Gen Vij said his efforts would be directed towards
improving living conditions of all ranks in the Army.
In this connection, he mentioned that construction of almost 200,000 houses would be
completed in the next three to four years and would resolve the accommodation
problem in the Army once and for all.
Vij said the approval for the contributory medical health scheme for ex-servicemen
was in the final stages and would provide for taking care of medical problems of
over 20 lakh ex-servicemen, whose numbers were increasing by almost 60,000 a year.
The Army chief said his thrust would also be to increase the number of OFFICERS in
the units. At present, Indian Army has shortages of almost 14,000 officers.
On the adventure front, Vij said the Army was planning to launch around the world
sailing expedition, ski trek to South Pole, trans-Arabian sea ballooning expedition
and long distance vehicle rally to China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal.
PTI
