NEW DELHI, 18 May: “The Indian armed forces, which continue to play a pivotal role in nation-building, have emerged as a national symbol of integrity and resilience,” Arunachal Pradesh Governor KT Parnaik said in his speech at the Lieutenant General PS Bhagat Memorial Lecture,held at the Manekshaw Centre here on Friday.
Speaking on the topic ‘Armed forces’ contributions to realise the vision of a rising India’, he said that “the transformation of the armed forces hinges on force structuring and optimisation, modernisation,technology infusion, process and functions, human resource management, jointness, and integration.”
He added that “kinetic and non-kinetic realms of modern warfare need to be embedded in the comprehensive national power,” and outlined the important operational, training, humanitarian and diplomatic activities which could contribute to realising the vision of a rising India.
Saying that the armed forces “should be the biggest catalyst to facilitate the country to become a developed nation,” he suggested “transforming the armed forces according to the changing face of warfare evolution; mandatory endeavours towards self-reliance through industry integration; infusion of latest disruptive and grey zone technologies to counter cyber warfare; and far-sighted perception management and integration of population from far-flung areas with the mainstream India in the ‘nation first’ spirit.”
Among others, Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, retired United Service Institution of India (USI) director general, Maj Gen BK Sharma, retired USI Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation director, Maj Gen RS Yadav, and retired Maj Gen SG Pitre also participated in the memorial lecture.
A film on Lt Gen PS Bhagat was screened, and a book titled The Victoria Cross Icon: Vision and Legacy, authored by Maj Gen Pitre, was launched on the occasion.
The annual event was organised by the USI, a national security and defence services think tank based in New Delhi. (Raj Bhavan)
