Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi announced that India is considering raising a 'rocket-cum-missile' force in response to the evolving regional security situation and similar units in China and Pakistan. The move aims to enhance India's combat capabilities and long-range strike potential.
The Army chief said the situation along the Line of Actual Control with China has been stable, but it needs constant vigil.
In appointing Lt Gen Dwivedi, the government followed the seniority principle.
Equipped with torpedoes and anti-submarine rockets, the first of the Mahe-class anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW SWC) was delivered to the Navy on October 23.
The Army Chief said India's political brass has the will to strengthen the country's deterrence capabilities.
The Indian Army has brought a change in its social media guidelines under which its personnel can now sign up on Instagram, but with a rider that they can use it only as 'passive observers' without putting up posts or comments on the platform, sources said on Thursday.
Gen Dwivedi, who also addressed a gathering at his alma mater, Rewa Sainik School, said that during Operation Sindoor, Indian forces ensured that no action was taken while prayers or namaz were underway.
So, when to start, when to stop, how much to apply in terms of time, space and resources, and how much, what is the definition of calibrated action, all these things were something "we kept discussing at every time," Gen Dwivedi recalled.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi asserted that Operation Sindoor was unlike any conventional mission and that it was akin to playing a game of chess as 'we did not know' what would be the enemy's next move.
In a stern warning to Pakistan, Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi said on Friday that the neighbouring country should stop sponsoring terrorism on its soil if wants to retain its place on the world map.
Indian army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday said that the surgical strikes carried out during Operation Sindoor were a clear message to Pakistan that supporters of terrorism will not be spared.
India's Army Chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, emphasized the Indian Army's role as a "melting pot" and cited the harmony between Kuki and Meitei soldiers in the same units as an example of the force's unifying nature. He made the remarks during a lecture in Pune, highlighting the Army's efforts to promote unity and integration within its ranks. General Dwivedi also touched upon the Army's role in internal security in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast, and the upcoming Olympics.
Defence experts discuss the objectives and strategic pause of Operation Sindoor, emphasizing the avoidance of a prolonged conflict and its potential impact on the Indian economy.
He also reviewed the joint actions undertaken in coordination with the Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force, they said.
Singh reached Udhampur on a two-day visit on Friday, his second trip to Jammu and Kashmir post-Operation Sindoor. He visited Kashmir on May 15, days after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military actions against each other.
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi Monday said there is still a 'degree' of standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and both sides need to sit down and firm up a broader understanding on how to calm down the situation.
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi visited Dehradun on Monday and reviewed operational preparedness, interacted with troops, and received briefings on security initiatives and infrastructure development in the region. He emphasized the importance of maintaining peak operational efficiency and adaptability in a complex security environment. The visit highlights the Army's proactive approach to ensuring mission readiness and boosting troop morale.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has assured the nation that India will respond strongly to the recent terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people. He stated that India will not be intimidated by such acts and will take every necessary step to trace those responsible and those who conspired behind the scenes. Singh described the attack as "extremely inhuman" and reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
Gen Dwivedi, who has vast operational experience along the frontiers with China and Pakistan, was serving as the Vice Chief of the Army.
Gen Pande was to retire from service on May 31.
The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh is stable but sensitive and not normal, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday on the dragging military standoff between China and India in the region.
The General said it was "too early" to take a call on the role of Bangladesh, where a change in government may bring about a change in the relationship between it and India.
The eastern Ladakh military standoff between India and China began in May 2020 and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.
The aircraft was allowed to move inside India as the air defence personnel knew who was inside the plane, they said.
Speaking to media-persons after paying his last tributes to five soldiers, including two Army captains, who lost their lives in the Rajouri firefight, Lt Gen Dwivedi said, "While we lost five of our brave soldiers in the encounter, we also eliminated two dreaded terrorists. Our boys went after the well-trained and equipped foreign terrorists without giving any thought to their personal safety. This (taking out the dreaded terrorists) has dealt a major blow to the terror ecosystem and Pakistan. As per our estimation, 20-25 terrorists could still be operating in the area. We should be able to control the situation in a year's time with the help of locals."
Security forces are using drones and helicopters for surveillance of the dense forest area where terrorists are believed to be holed up since Wednesday after killing two Army officers and a deputy superintendent of police in the initial exchange of fire, the officials said.
A search operation to track down the fleeing terrorists continues near the scene of the ambush, while mobile internet services remained suspended in the twin districts for the second day on Sunday, they said.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command, said five of the seven friction points in eastern Ladakh, where the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA are locked in a standoff since May 2020, have been resolved and talks are underway for the remaining areas.
He said that the army has tried to neutralise foreign terrorists along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch.
Around 300 terrorists are present in Jammu and Kashmir, while 160 others are waiting on the launchpads for an opportunity to sneak into this side from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan, a top army commander said on Tuesday.
Asserting that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has seen a "tremendous improvement and stabilisation" since August 2019, a top Army commander said the Union territory is regaining its past glory and peace through sacrifices of the security forces and people.
The Army on Tuesday said it was prepared to give an appropriate response to any adverse aggressive designs of China in the Ladakh sector, maintaining that the integrity of the country was being ensured through physical patrolling and technical means.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and non-local labourers by militants was to keep terrorism alive in Kashmir.
Security forces launched a massive assault with mortar shells to flush out terrorists responsible for the killing of four personnel from a hilly forest in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Saturday, officials said.
The "eyeball to eyeball" deployment and the dynamic internal security situation in the JK make Northern Command the most unique theatre.
Lt Gen Dwivedi, who was referring to the clash between the Indian soldiers and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, also said that PLA's aggression in eastern Ladakh was met with "swift mobilisation and appropriate force posturing".
Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi visited the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and took stock of the ongoing operation, the officials said, adding he asked the troops to be relentless in their pursuit.
A terrorist was killed and another was most likely injured on Saturday in an ongoing operation in the densely forested area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, Army said.
"Only time will tell us about that but I am quite sure that if a youngster who has, as you said, got brainwashed (into terrorism), joins the services under the scheme and stays with us for four years, I am sure he will be a different person and probably more of an Indian than a radical as you brought out," the air marshal told reporters.
He visited areas falling under the operational command of the Rising Star Corps, including Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Pathankot, to review the security situation.
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