india

Updated: Mar 08, 2019 08:40 IST

The Indian Army is creating two new positions in its headquarters for strengthening its vigilance set up and monitoring human rights-related matters as part of an overarching plan to restructure the force, two officials on condition of anonymity said on Thursday.

“Both positions will be manned by major-general ranked officers, who will be appointed as additional directors general to man the posts. The ADG (vigilance) will report directly to the army chief. This is part of the restructuring of the army headquarters,” said one of the officials.

The ADG (vigilance) wing will have officers drawn from the three services for an objective and impartial approach, while the ADG (human rights) branch will have a police officer on deputation, he said. The ADG (human rights) will report to the director general of military operations.

The biggest exercise in independent India’s history to restructure the army is based on four comprehensive studies led by the its topmost generals, and it seeks to change the direction of the 1.2 million-strong force and transform it into a deadlier fighting machine prepared for future wars.

The restructuring of the army headquarters — one of the four studies — will see the role of the DG of military training being given to army training command, which is being moved from Shimla to Ambala, as first reported by HT on January 28.

The restructuring, which will cut around 20% posts in the army headquarters, will also involve creating a new post of deputy chief of army staff (capability and sustenance) to look after all aspects of procurements, the second official said. Around 1,000 officers are posted in the army headquarters. The remaining three studies are reorganisation and rightsizing of the Indian Army, cadre review of officers and review of terms of engagement of rank and file.

In an interview to HT in October, army chief General Bipin Rawat said the implementation of the four studies in their totality would reduce troops (by about 1,00,000), allow the army to tap technological advances in warfare, create integrated brigades that can be mission-deployed swiftly, cut down the size of the army headquarters, improve the army’s tooth-to-tail ratio and enhance career prospects. The army’s restructuring was kicked off on a small scale two years ago.