Combined Commanders’ Conference (CCC); a premier brain-storming event of the Military Commanders from the three Services has commenced at Kevadia in Gujarat. The combined apex level military leadership of the country is reviewing the security situation and defence preparedness of the Armed Forces, and deliberating pertinent organisational issues for evolving a joint military vision for the future during the three day conference from 04 to 06 March.
In a major change from the past, the scope of the conference this year has been expanded to make it a multi-layered, interactive, informal and informed event with the added participation of about 30 Officers and soldiers of various ranks from the three Services.
Key events encapsulate series of discussions & deliberations on a range of issues pertinent to the Armed Forces and its role in nation building, with the participation of senior most political and bureaucratic hierarchy in addition to the multi-layered participation of military personnel.
It is interesting to note that the CCC in 2014 was held at Delhi. Since then it has been moved out to different venues across the country. The conference was held on board INS Vikramaditya in 2015 and in 2017 at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. The last edition of CCC was held in 2018 over a period of two days at Air Force Station, Jodhpur.
There have been several major developments in the Higher Defence Organisation since including appointment of first ever Chief of Defence Staff and setting up of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), and several important & multifarious issues affecting modernisation & transformation of the Armed Forces are currently under active consideration/ implementation.
The Raksha Mantri Hon’ble Rajnath Singh joined the Combined Commanders of the Armed Forces for the Vivechana Sessions at the ongoing Combined Commanders Conference 2021 at Kevadia in Gujarat. Soon after arriving at Kevadia, the RM visited the Statue of Unity to pay his homage to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
Delivering the inaugural address, the Raksha Mantri dwelled on a wide spectrum of issues affecting the defence& security of the Nation. He spoke at length on the emerging nature of military threats, the critical role of the Armed Forces in meeting these threats and the anticipated changes in the nature of warfare in future. Hon’ble RM expressed his heartfelt appreciation and respect to the selfless courage displayed by the soldiers during the Eastern Ladakh standoff with PLA. Secretaries of Department of Defence, Defence Production, Department of R&D and Financial Advisor Defence Services also shared their thoughts on various relevant aspects with the Combined Commanders.
The two Vivechana sessions held over the day in the presence of the Defence Minister deliberated over a wide range of issues, some of them held behind closed doors. These deliberations addressed the ongoing modernisation of Armed Forces especially focusing on creation of integrated Theatre Commands and infusion of modern technology. Issues like morale & motivation and promotion of spirit of innovation in the Armed Forces witnessed enthusiastic participation with useful feedback and suggestions from the soldiers and younger officers of the three Services.
The Combined Commanders’ Conference is being held in Kevadia with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence General Bipin Rawat and the three services chiefs being the main participants.
“The in-house innovators of the three services have been called to showcase the products developed by them to the Prime Minister to show the work being done by the forces to promote Aatmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector,”
The products include bullet-proof jackets, microcopters and strong electronic jammers and remotely operated vessels which have been fully developed and designed by in house officers along with chosen start-up firms, they said.
At the suggestion of the Prime Minister’s Office, jawans have also been included in the elite conference.
Both serving Param Vir Chakra awardees including Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav and Subedar Sanjay Kumar are also present in Kevadia.
The Combined Commanders’ Conference till now involved only Commander-in-Chief rank officers who, along with their respective Services chiefs, would be addressed by the Prime Minister and given directives on dealing with the security challenges perceived by the government.
After PM Modi’s first address in 2014 at the South Block, the conference has been held on aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and Jodhpur air-base.
This time, it is being held in the Kevadia town of Gujarat in front of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel’s Statue of Unity where the top brass of the military would be staying in tents for the duration of the conference.
Combined Commanders Conference; a premier brain-storming event of the Military Commanders from the three Services at Kevadia in Gujarat. 🇮🇳❤️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/fnARQzQ2cF
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