India’s long-pending theatre command reform is moving in the right direction and could start taking shape on the ground in the next two to three years, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said on Saturday, 30 May.
The Army chief made the remarks on the sidelines of the National Defence Academy (NDA) passing out parade (POP) at Khadakwasla in Pune.
Speaking on the issue of theatreisation, General Dwivedi said discussions within the Chiefs of Staff Committee have been completed and the full report has been submitted to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The proposal is currently under review by different stakeholders, he added.
“As far as the theatrization is concerned, I assure the house that it’s on the right track,” the Army Chief said.
He said the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs, including the outgoing Chief of Naval Staff, had taken a conscious view to ensure that the major interests of all three services are addressed.
General Dwivedi said the process would require some adjustment from all three services, as greater synergy would involve “some kind of a giveaway” by each force.
“As of now, all the discussions on theatrization have got over within the Chiefs of Staff Committee, the complete report has been submitted to the Defence Minister. It is undergoing a review from various stakeholders at this stage. In this, the CDS and the present three chiefs, including the outgoing CNS, we have taken a conscious view that all the major interests of all three services are met with,” he said.
He indicated that under the proposed arrangement, service chiefs would remain responsible for raising, training and sustaining their respective forces, while theatre commanders would be responsible for the operation and orchestration of forces during deployment.
“Whenever you will find there is a kind of synergy which is to be brought in, there will be some kind of a giveaway by all three services. Therefore the service chiefs will be responsible for the restrain and sustain and the theatre commanders will be responsible for the operation, orchestration of the forces,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the next setup, which is coming under the new CDS, should be able to take the journey forward and in next 2-3 years we should be able to see it happening on ground or getting translated on the ground,” General Dwivedi added.
Theatreisation is aimed at restructuring the armed forces into integrated theatre commands, where assets and manpower of the Army, Navy and Air Force are brought under unified commanders for specific operational theatres.
The reform is seen as one of India’s most important military restructuring exercises, with the objective of improving joint planning, faster decision-making and better use of resources during operations.
His remarks came during the 150th Passing Out Parade of the National Defence Academy.
The Army Chief’s comments also come at a time when the armed forces are increasingly focusing on jointness across land, air, maritime, cyber and space domains. The theatre command model is expected to play a central role in that transition by reducing duplication, improving coordination and placing operational responsibility under integrated commanders.
General Dwivedi’s statement makes it clear that the theatreisation proposal has crossed an important internal consultation stage among the service leadership. The next phase will depend on stakeholder review and the CDS-led setup carrying the process forward towards implementation.
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