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Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth on Wednesday outlined his vision for the Indian Army, unveiling the acronym “VIJAY” as the guiding framework for force modernisation, operational preparedness and self-reliance, a day after taking over as the Army’s 31st Chief.
General Seth, who succeeded General Upendra Dwivedi following his retirement on Tuesday, said the Indian Army would remain a combat-ready force while accelerating its transformation into a technology-enabled military capable of meeting future security challenges.
Describing the Army as a “combat-ready and battle-hardened force”, he said it was prepared to embrace emerging technologies to deal with a rapidly evolving security environment.
“Our objective is to build a technology-enabled, future-ready Army that is empowered in every respect and capable of operating across multiple domains,” he said.
Drawing inspiration from the Defence Ministry’s “Decade of Transformation” initiative, Gen Seth said his priorities would be guided by the acronym VIJAY.
The letter ‘V’ stands for Vigilance and Readiness, underlining the Army’s focus on maintaining constant watch over India’s borders and sustaining a high level of operational preparedness against emerging threats.
‘I’ represents Innovation and Transformation, with emphasis on integrating new technologies, modern doctrines and capability development to adapt to the changing character of warfare.
‘J’ signifies Jointness and Integration, reflecting the Army’s commitment to closer operational synergy with the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy, alongside a broader whole-of-nation approach involving military-civil fusion.
‘A’ stands for Atmanirbharta (self-reliance), with Gen Seth stressing that future wars should increasingly be fought using indigenous technologies and defence systems developed within the country.
The final letter, ‘Y’, represents Yodha First, placing soldiers, veterans and Veer Naris at the centre of the Army’s priorities.
“From the youngest Agniveer to the most senior veteran, everyone is a ‘Yodha’. Strengthening the technological threshold and training standards of our soldiers will be my top priority,” he said, adding that the welfare and empowerment of veterans and Veer Naris would remain a key focus.
Assuring the nation of the Army’s preparedness, he said the force would continue to safeguard India’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.
The Army chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s military mantra of JAI – Jointness, Atmanirbharta and Innovation – forms the foundation of his own VIJAY framework. “JAI se VIJAY,” he said.
Lt Gen Sandeep Jain Takes Over as Vice Chief
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Sandeep Jain on Wednesday assumed charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOS), succeeding to the Army’s second-highest appointment after serving as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Jain was commissioned into the Mahar Regiment in June 1988 and brings nearly four decades of operational and command experience.
During his career, he has commanded an infantry battalion in semi-desert terrain and under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, an infantry brigade in a Strike Corps, a counter-insurgency force, a Pivot Corps in Northern Command and later a Corps in Northern Command. His operational experience includes participation in Operation Pawan, service as a UN Military Observer in Ethiopia, and multiple tenures in counter-insurgency operations and high-altitude deployments along the Line of Control and in the Northeast.
While, Lt Gen Rajesh Pushkar, II Strike Corps Commander at Ambala, who provided operational leadership during Operation Sindoor, on Wednesday assumed charge as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Southern Command, succeeding Lt Gen Sandeep Jain.
An Armoured Corps officer commissioned into the 74 Armoured Regiment in December 1988, his career has included command of an armoured regiment, an independent armoured brigade, an infantry division and a strike corps, besides key staff appointments at Army Headquarters and operational formations. He has also served as India’s Defence and Military Attaché in Moscow with concurrent accreditation to Armenia and Belarus.
In another senior-level appointment, Lt Gen Mohit Malhotra took over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the South Western Command, headquartered in Jaipur. Commissioned into the 47 Armoured Regiment in 1989, he was serving as Chief of Staff, Eastern Command, before assuming his new role.
During his career spanning over 37 years, Lt Gen Malhotra has commanded formations ranging from an armoured regiment to the Desert Corps and has served in challenging operational areas, including the Siachen Glacier. He has also held several key appointments in operational planning, logistics, military intelligence, strategic communications and served as the Additional Director General of Strategic Communication (ADG SC) at Army Headquarters, New Delhi, during the India-China military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
