Road Map to Build Future-ready Force 

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

In News

• The Army Chief has unveiled a comprehensive three-phase roadmap to build a future-ready force by 2047, aligning military transformation with India’s vision of Viksit Bharat. 

Comprehensive three-phase roadmap

• The plan emphasizes modernization, integration, and resilience to meet evolving security challenges.
• Phases: The first phase, ‘HOP 2032’, forms a comprehensive framework under the Army’s decade of transformation initiative launched in 2023.
  • The second phase, ‘STEP 2037’, comprises a five-year period of consolidating the gains from the first phase. 
  • Third phase, ‘JUMP 2047’, under which the Army aims to emerge as an integrated, future-ready force.

Objective and Need

• The roadmap stems from India’s changing security environment, marked by hybrid warfare, cyber threats, and regional instability. 
• With the rise of disruptive technologies and contested borders, the Army is evolving  beyond conventional warfare. 
• The plan aligns with the government’s push for Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence, reducing reliance on imports and strengthening indigenous production.

Challenges

• India’s defence modernization faces key hurdles like resource constraints in balancing fiscal discipline with high costs,
• Technology gaps due to limited domestic production of advanced systems
• Operational complexity in integrating new doctrines while staying combat-ready
• Human capital challenges in training personnel for emerging domains like cyber, space, and electronic warfare.

Way Ahead 

• The Army chief outlined a long-term transformation plan for India’s Army, focusing on structural reforms, stronger civil-military-industrial partnerships, and sustained R&D investment. 
• The goal is to build a future-ready, resilient force by 2047 that can safeguard sovereignty and support India’s rise as a global power, while modernizing and indigenizing capabilities despite fiscal and technological challenges.

Source :TH