(This story originally appeared in on Sep 10, 2018)

(This story was originally in the Economic Times on 10/09/2018.)The head of the Army’s specialised counterterrorist force, the Rashtriya Rifles , could be shifted to Jammu and Kashmir from Delhi to ensure better proximity to the operational site, as part of the Army’s restructuring exercise.The army is contemplating to co-locate the Director General Rashtriya Rifles with its Northern Command, explained officials. Lt Gen Sharawat is the current DG Rashtriya Rifles. The Army’s top hierarchy feels that the DG Rashtriya Rifles, who is currently based at the Army Headquarters in Delhi, would be better suited at the Udhampur-based Northern Command, because he can contribute better to the administrative, logistical and weapon requirements of his troops. This is especially so as the Rashtriya Rifles –– comprising 65 battalions –– are based in J&K for counter-terrorist operations.“This is being thought of because the DG Rashtriya Rifles will be better suited there and will be better able to deal with his troops’ problems. He can immediately visit an operational area if the need arises and will add more value to the Northern Command,” explained officials. The army is looking at having this development in line with the Director General Assam Rifles , who is located in Shillong, as the force under him, Assam Rifles, is based in the North-East to fight the insurgency.Another focus of the army’s restructuring plans is to remove or downsize certain departments. This includes a thought on whether the Directorate General of Military Training can be trimmed to be in line with the Shimla-based Army Training Command (ARTRAC), said officials. Both have similar roles. The DGMT executes training plans for operations, war games, joint training, etc, while the ARTRAC controls the training establishments and writes training pamphlets.These two measures are part of an ongoing army study to restructure the headquarters in the national capital. It is aimed at reducing the administrative flab and ensuring that more officers are available for postings at frontline operational areas and for cost-cutting. Besides this, there are three more internal studies on reorganising the army towards having an agile structure for field formations, cadre review for better promotional avenues, and terms and conditions for jawans. All these studies are also aimed at transforming the army into an efficient fighting machine with better combat capabilities to meet current and future threats.The army is likely to hold a review conference of the four studies next week. The studies will be discussed at the Army Commanders’ Conference in October, before being presented to the defence ministry. The army’s plans come in the backdrop of People’s Liberation Army undergoing the most comprehensive restructuring in its history. The reforms seek to improve the PLA’s ability to perform joint operations and combat effectiveness. These include enhancing its theatre commands and changing its core operational units from the division to the brigade.