Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the 16th Combined Commanders’ Conference in Kolkata and urged the Armed Forces to enhance jointness, promote self-reliance and embrace innovation to strengthen operational readiness in an era of evolving security challenges.
The three-day biennial conference, themed ‘Year of Reforms – Transformation for the Future’, is the highest-level brainstorming forum of the Armed Forces and brings together the country’s top military commanders and senior civilian leadership.
In his address, the Prime Minister lauded the forces for the successful execution of Operation Sindoor and highlighted their contributions to nation building, anti-piracy operations, evacuation of Indian citizens from conflict zones, and extending humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to friendly countries.
Emphasising that 2025 has been declared the year of reforms in defence, PM Modi directed the Ministry of Defence to implement concrete measures at the earliest to achieve synergy among the three Services, indigenisation in defence production and greater use of cutting-edge technologies.
The Prime Minister was given a detailed briefing on the operational readiness of the forces in light of new realities post Operation Sindoor, the impact of emerging technologies on future warfare, and the reforms undertaken in the last two years. He also reviewed the roadmap for the coming two years.
Over the next two days, the conference will take up a wide range of issues, including structural, administrative and operational reforms, preparedness of the Armed Forces amid global uncertainties, and strategies to advance the Prime Minister’s vision for modernising India’s defence architecture.