January 14, 2002

    Following is the text of the interview of Army Chief with Sainik Samachar on the occasion of the Army Day 2002: -

Ans. During winters, due to snowfall in the upper reaches of Pir Panjal, Samshabari and other mountain ranges in J&K, the terrorists tend to gravitate to population centers, the Jammu region and the lower reaches of J&K. We intend to deny them this avenue of escape from the rigours of winter. Further, the counter infiltration posture is being strengthened and "force multipliers" like electronic devices are being deployed. Border fencing along the IB should also help in counter infiltration. Relentless counter terrorist operations will continue. At the same time, concerted military civic action will also be undertaken to wean away the people from militancy.

Ans. The performance of Women officers has been generally satisfactory. As of now of now there are no plans to grant regular commission to women officers or induct them into combat arms.

Ans. Consequent to the establishment of the Army Sports Institute at Pune, we have undertaken creation of state-of-the-art infrastructure for sports. This includes modern firing ranges, synthetic athletic track and facilities/equipments for selected sports in which we are strong. Talent scouting has been instituted with the aim of identifying and selecting potential sportsmen for enrolment. We are also making arrangements for good Indian and foreign coaches for our sportsmen. The Sports Authority of India is also helping the Army in securing the services of good coaches.

Ans. At present the requirement is being managed out of the existing 8421 Dwelling Units (DU) (covering 68 Cantt/Mil Stns) constructed/re-appropriated as SF Accn for OR of the Indian Army. This is grossly inadequate. The Prime Minister’s landmark decision of undertaking the construction of deficient married accommodation for All Ranks of the Defence Services in the next four years (commencing from FY 2002-2003) through a dedicated budgetary provision of Rs 4000 crore per year will greatly alleviate the problem and once implemented, will enable a quantum jump in the present satisfaction levels including of SF Accommodation.

Ans. The Army "IT Road Map 2008" is a detailed guide to the assimilation of Information Technology into the Army’s functioning. It covers various levels from training of soldiers to most advanced areas like "Virtual Reality" and Information Warfare. The projects currently underway focus on Establishment of the Army Intranet, IT Training and Development of Application Software. Similarly, IT training has been started at basic, middle and advanced levels at all training institutions. Select Officers are being trained at IITs, CDAC and with Industry as well. In addition, use of the Internet is being encouraged all over.

Ans. The present and future battlefield environment requires substantially enhanced `jointness’, both in planning as well as in prosecution of operations. Major reforms, based on the report of the Task Force for `Review of the Management of Defence’, are underway. In addition, the process of integrating the Services Headquarters with the Ministry of Defence has commenced. Substantial delegation of administrative and financial powers to the Services is being done so as to speed up the decision making process.

Ans. Self-reliance has been the corner stone of our equipment philosophy for a long time and in this regard a close working relationship between the Army and the DRDO has been established over the years.

The long term plans of the Army envisage a progressive decrease in imported military equipment and we hope that by the end of the current decade our inventory of indigenous equipment would outnumber imported equipment. These equipment fall in the category of high technology end as well as in the commercial realm and we are confident that in our efforts to modernize the Army, our R&D organization as well as the production agencies will stand shoulder to shoulder with us. We are therefore developing close linkages with the industry, both public as well as the private sector.

Ans. The Army’s mission is to preserve National interest and safeguard territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of the country against external or internal threat, by deterrence or by waging war.