Andalib Akhter
New Delhi: Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth has called for India to expand the concept of defence self-reliance beyond domestic production and develop the ability to sustain, adapt and regenerate military capabilities during prolonged conflicts.
Addressing a Defence Conclave organised by NDTV on the theme “Aatmanirbharta in an Era of Transformative Wars”, General Seth said the changing nature of warfare required India to adopt a more dynamic approach to capability development. Describing contemporary conflicts as “wars with pause”, he noted that while technology may be reducing the duration of individual battles, it was not necessarily shortening wars.
“Technology is certainly shortening the battles but it is not necessarily shortening the war. These millennium wars therefore can best be described as wars with pause. Pause, in fact, is becoming a part of military strategy, with the pause representing not the domination of conflict but merely a change in its intensity and manifestation,” he said.
The Army Chief stressed that defence preparedness could not follow a “one-size-fits-all” approach, given India’s diverse operational environment. The country’s military requirements range from mean sea level to super-high-altitude areas and from extreme heat to sub-zero conditions. Capabilities, he said, therefore need to be designed according to India’s specific geography, terrain and operational requirements.
General Seth also highlighted the growing impact of low-cost, scalable and rapidly deployable technologies on modern warfare. He pointed out that a drone costing only a few hundred dollars could pose a threat to a military platform worth millions of dollars.
The changing cost equation of warfare, he said, underscored the need for India to develop systems that can respond quickly to emerging threats rather than relying solely on expensive and sophisticated platforms.
The Army Chief emphasised that the key advantage in future conflicts would lie in the ability to innovate, adapt and develop effective countermeasures faster than an adversary.
His remarks underline a broader shift in the understanding of Aatmanirbharta in defence—from merely increasing indigenous manufacturing to ensuring that the armed forces can maintain operational capability, replenish resources and rapidly adapt to changing technologies and battlefield conditions during extended conflicts.