Nilgiris(Tamil Nadu), April 10, 2025(ANI): Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended convocation Ceremony of Defence Service Staff college in Tamil Nadu, Wellington.He began his address to the gathering of the vibrant and dynamic young military leaders of the armed forces of India by extending his gratitude to the people of India for expressing their solidarity and support for Myanmar and Thailand in face of massive earthquake.He further briefed about unique and disruptive challenges to national security. He also mentioned about the present geopolitical landscape and pillar on which it stands that is Privatisation of National Security, Technological intervention and innovation.In addition to that he also mentioned about tremendous flux with a rapidly shifting alignments, disruption, and conflicts. He described about issues such as deglobalization, intense nationalism, resources scarcity, human migration, food security, climate concerns, and threat of global pandemics which looms large.
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00:00Chief of Defense Staff, General Anil Chauhan, Lieutenant General Virendra Watts, Commandant
00:27Division Services Staff College, Directing Staff and Instructors of DSSC, Graduating Officers
00:35from India and friendly foreign countries and their family members, friends from India,
00:43ladies and gentlemen. Before starting my address, I would like to express solidarity and support
00:50of the people of India for Myanmar and Thailand in face of the massive earthquake a few days
00:57ago. India has always stood by its friends as a first responder in times of crisis and
01:05we consider it as our duty to be able to deliver timely relief to the people of Myanmar.
01:12It is a matter of great pleasure for me to be here today to address a gathering of the
01:19vibrant and dynamic young military leaders of the armed forces of India and friendly nations
01:26who stand at a confluence of knowledge, awareness and leadership skills ready to contribute to
01:33the security and development of our great country. I congratulate each one of you for having
01:42successfully completed the course. Friends, today, as I gaze through the hall, I see the
01:50pride of the armed forces of India and other nations, a generation of military leaders that
01:56will endure a period of accelerated change that will be accompanied by unique and disruptive
02:03challenges. And I also see the future strategic military leaders who will have the onerous task
02:11of ensuring the national security of your respective countries. Each one of you sitting here is destined
02:20to participate in the national efforts towards building a prosperous future for your
02:26people. A great responsibility awaits you. Friends, today, I want to share some insights about
02:35the complex environment that you will face, the challenges that you will need to overcome and
02:43expectations that you will need to fulfill in your journey ahead. Friends, global geopolitics today
02:52is being redefined by three key metrics. A major pivot towards prioritizing national security,
03:01a technological tsunami that is sweeping the global landscape and accelerating innovation.
03:09As national security professionals, you will do well to study the menaces of these trends in dust if you
03:17you have to stay ahead on the strategic military change curve. Friends, the global geopolitical situation
03:26is marked by tremendous flux, with rapidly shifting alignments, disruptions, and conflicts being the order of the day.
03:36Issues such as deglobalization, intense nationalism, resource scarcity,
03:45human migration, food security, climate concerns, and threat of global pandemics loom large. This is accompanied
03:55by the weaponization of trade and finance and anxieties that are created due to disruption of the supply chains,
04:04monopoly over disruptive technologies, and anxieties over the transparency of data flows.
04:13It is no surprise that the world is moving to an era of self-help and unilateral decisions,
04:22leading to a decline of the global institutions and order. And we are seeing this unfold before our
04:29world of every eyes today. Foreign technology today is a driving geopolitics and international security
04:38like never before. Artificial intelligence and the emerging basket of technology, robotics, military autonomy, drones,
04:49quantum, blockchain, space, cyber, electronics, additive manufacturing, and the like are revolutionizing
04:59difference and war fighting in critical ways. Warfare is moving rapidly beyond traditional domains of
05:09land, land, land, sea, and air, to space, cyber, the undersea, and near domains of primitive endeavour drones, for instance.
05:21Has emerged in Ukraine-Russia conflict virtually as a new arm, if not a transformative science.
05:29The majority of the losses of the soldiers and equipment have been attributed neither to traditional
05:37artillery nor to armour, but to drones. Space capacities in the low earth orbit similarly are transforming military
05:48intelligence, persistent surveillance, positioning, targeting, and communications, thus taking combat to a new high.
05:59The power of technological innovation in combat threats is breathtaking indeed.
06:07Friends, the ongoing conflicts under contemporary trains
06:11highlight the fact that the traditional notions of warfare are being rewritten.
06:18Emerging technologies are impacting the character of war with unmanned systems and advent of the artificial intelligence,
06:26forecasting, forecasting, and era of autonomous warfare. Warfare today has gone beyond the traditional
06:34battleships of land, sea, and air, and armed forces will increasingly need to operate jointly in multi-domain
06:44environments where cyber, space, and information warfare will be as potent as conventional operations.
06:55We are in the age of the grey zone and hybrid warfare where cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns,
07:04and economic warfare have become tools that can prosecute and achieve political-military aims without a single shot being fired.
07:15Friends, India, and the world today faces a diverse range of security challenges.
07:21In our case, we face persistent threats along our northern and western borders.
07:27This is further compounded by the threat of the proxy war and terrorism emanating from the epicenter of terrorism in our neighborhood.
07:38The ongoing conflict in West Asia and geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific to our east have their impact on our overall security calculus.
07:53In addition, capability to address non-traditional security threats to include natural disasters and climate change effects are increasingly becoming important.
08:04This brings me to the question that what does this imply for all of you?
08:14In the environment that I have just described, where the world around us is evolving rapidly with new security dynamics and challenges emerging every day,
08:26the focus of every nation, and each one of you has to remain ahead of the curve and be future ready.
08:35Friends, as India moves towards our Prime Minister's visionary goal of the Vixit Bharat by 2047,
08:45a fully developed, self-reliant, and globally respected India,
08:50It is imperative to recognize that this vision rests firmly on two fundamental pillars.
08:59Surakshit Bharat are secure India and Sasak Bharat are strong India.
09:06While Surakshit Bharat gives us the confidence to dream, Sasak Bharat gives us the strength to achieve those dreams.
09:14Our armed forces, through honour, wavering, vigilance and sacrifice, ensure a secure India.
09:24So how are we to achieve this vision?
09:28Friends, I feel the approach has to be guided by the Defence Services of the College.
09:34Here, with eight to ten years of the average service, you have a long career spun ahead of you,
09:44where you could be the future change-makers. Let me explain how.
09:52The start point has to be the development and modernization of our armed forces.
09:57Technology today is not a support element, but a decisive enabler of operations.
10:05Our armed forces must therefore not only keep pace with technological changes, but also lead it.
10:16The need for us is to develop low-cost, high-tech solutions
10:20and enhance the fighting capability of the armed forces.
10:25In order to remain capable and relevant for future wars, we need to vigorously pursue the transformation of our armed forces.
10:37New perspectives, doctrines, concepts of operations and structures need to be created and refined
10:45in keeping with the changing nature of threats and war-fighting methodologies.
10:51Friends, as I highlighted earlier, the carvass of the threats that we face and therefore the need to respond has to be enhanced.
11:04So while enhancing our capabilities to prosecute conventional war and respond to conventional threats,
11:10We must ensure that we cater for capability and capacity to address the challenges of non-traditional threats as well.
11:22The need to respond to natural disasters is a case in point.
11:29Friends, the second important aspect is that this focus on development and modernization is increasingly realized through Atma, Nervar or self-reliance in defense.
11:42Friends, relations of the ongoing conflicts teach us the building resilient, indigenous, and future-ready defense technological and manufacturing ecosystem is not an option, but a strategic necessity.
11:58Thirdly, protecting the national security of our nation will require us to enhance synergy between all components of our national power.
12:11Therefore, fostering a whole-of-nation approach while undertaking actions in the entire spectrum of diplomatic, informational, military, economic, and technological domains is key to ensuring success in this endeavor.
12:29Finally, we need to remember that achieving a better future and prosperity for our peoples and nations will always remain a collective parisery.
12:45Increasing connectivities and dependencies among countries and peoples implies that the multitude of the challenges are better faced in control with each other than individuals.
12:59Mutual interests and synergies will help us to achieve such concerns at sub-regional, regional, and even global levels.
13:11Friends, ten years ago, our Prime Minister, Sir Narendra Bodhi, laid the foundation of the vision of the Sagar, which stands for security and growth for all in the region.
13:24This vision was for the Indian Ocean region.
13:26This vision was for the stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region.
13:31Today, we have taken this further, and our Prime Minister has announced our vision for the Global South, which, going beyond Sagar, is defined as Mahasagar, that is mutual and holistic advancement of the security and growth across regions.
13:49Friends, friends, in pursuit of our need to modernize and remain relevant for the future, Ministry of Defence has decided to observe year 2025 as the year of reforms.
14:04This would aim at transforming the armed forces into a technologically advanced combat-ready force capable of multi-domain integrated operations.
14:20Nine broad areas have been identified and addressing the entire range of modernization imperatives to include defense acquisition and procedural reforms.
14:32I am pleased to share that collectively we are making significant progress on the goals we have set for ourselves.
14:45Friends, this brings me to the final question of what is your role and responsibility in this entire endeavor.
14:54I wish to define this by the first alphabet A five times.
15:01First and foremost is aware.
15:06First and foremost is all of you will need to remain aware of the environment and its implications for you as warfighters and the protectors of the national security.
15:19First and foremost is a today's experiment and the checker deal.
15:20First and foremost is following means contact all three as war rien to put into a new state medical checker deal.