india

Updated: Jul 06, 2019 01:09 IST

Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said the government has green-lighted a proposal to restructure the army headquarters, which is part of a larger plan to transform the force into a fighting machine fully prepared for future wars. “We will now start implementing the plan,” Rawat said on the sidelines of a function.

The army has conducted four comprehensive studies to change the complexion and direction of the 1.2 million- strong force and make it a leaner and meaner fighting machine.

Apart from reorganisation of the headquarters, the remaining three are reorganisation and rightsizing of the army, cadre review of officers and review of terms of engagement of rank and file. These proposals will also come up for government approval soon.

Reorganisation of the headquarters will see around 230 officers posted in Delhi being deployed to forward areas, an official said. It will also see the role of the Director General of Military Training being given to the Army Training Command and Director General of Rashtriya Rifles being moved to Jammu and Kashmir under the Udhampur-based Northern Command.

HT on March 8 reported the army is also creating two new positions in its headquarters for strengthening its vigilance set up and monitoring human rights-related matters as part of the overarching plan to restructure the force.

In October 2018, HT reported the Implementation of the four studies in their totality would reduce troops by about 100,000, 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.

At a time the military is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Kargil war, Rawat said Pakistan would not dare to attempt another misadventure as it had faced the consequences in 1999.

“No area has been left unguarded. Our surveillance team is keeping a tight watch and regularly patrolling the areas,” he told reporters.