New Delhi, April 15: — In a message read out at a defence reform event in New Delhi on Tuesday, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan emphasised the urgency for rapid adaptation as India steps into what the Ministry of Defence has declared the “Year of Reform” in 2025.
General Chauhan, who could not attend the event titled “Securing India’s Rise Through Defence Reforms” co-hosted by the Ministry’s think tank Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, conveyed that future wars will not only be fought on land, air, and sea, but also in cyber, electromagnetic, information, and even undersea domains.
“Reforms must be futuristic, insightful, and physically implementable,” Chauhan said, cautioning that modern conflicts—from Europe to West Asia—have demonstrated the increasing relevance of non-traditional warfronts and high-tech tools like stealth, hypersonics, and autonomous systems.
He stated that the armed forces are on the verge of a major transformation, evolving new doctrines to prepare for future warfare scenarios dominated by data-driven architecture and battlefield transparency.
Chauhan also underscored the need to accelerate defence procurement and prioritise R&D in niche sectors, calling civil-military fusion a key factor in long-term infrastructure development.
Former Deputy National Security Adviser Pankaj Saran echoed the urgency, stating that India must move away from its status as the world’s second-largest defence importer. “You cannot be a strong nation by being the second largest importer of defence equipment in the world,” he said.
