News Analysis India

Tag: M M Naravane

  • Army chief in Jammu to review security situation, operational preparedness

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Army Chief General M M Naravane is on a two-day visit to Jammu from Wednesday where he will review security situation and operational preparedness, officials said.

    This is his second visit to Jammu in the past over two weeks amid an ongoing operation against terrorists in a forest belt in twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, which is the longest in the recent past that has entered 24th day on Wednesday.

    “General MM Naravane #COAS (Chief of Army Staff) is on a visit to Jammu region wherein he will be given an update on security situation & operational preparedness. #COAS will visit forward areas & interact with troops and commanders on ground,” the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army tweeted.

    Earlier, the Army chief conducted a two-day tour of the Jammu region on October 18 and 19 and reviewed the ground situation and the ongoing counter-infiltration operations.

    He had also visited the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, where a massive operation to track down terrorists hiding in the forest areas of Mendhar, Surankote and Thanamandi has been going on since October 11.

    The operation started in Surankote forest on October 11, following the killing of five soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO).

    and was subsequently extended to Mendhar to neutralise the fleeing terrorists where another encounter took place on October 14, leaving four soldiers, including another JCO, killed.

    Pakistani terrorist Zia Mustafa, who was shifted from Kot Bhalwal Central Jail Jammu to Mendhar on police remand for questioning in connection with the operation, was killed when the security forces accompanying him to identify a hideout came under fire from hiding terrorists on October 24.

    Police have arrested a terrorist associate allegedly having links with Mustafa and the terrorist handlers across the border, while over a dozen others are also being questioned in connection with providing logistic support to the terrorists in the forest belt.

    Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine terrorists in separate encounters.

  • Welcome women cadets to NDA with same sense of fair play, professionalism: Army chief

    By PTI

    PUNE: Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane on Friday said as the National Defence Academy (NDA) opens its doors for women cadets, it is expected that they are welcomed with the same sense of fair play and professionalism.

    He was addressing the cadets after reviewing the passing out parade of the 141st course of the NDA here.

    “As we open the portals of the NDA for women cadets, we expect you to welcome them with the same sense of fair play and professionalism as Indian armed forces are known world over,” General Naravane said.

    Last month, the Defence Ministry had informed the Supreme Court that a notification allowing women candidates to appear for the entrance exam to the NDA will be out by May next year.

    But observing that induction of women to the NDA cannot be postponed by one year, the apex court had allowed female candidates to take the exam in November this year and not wait till May 2022 as requested by the government.

    In his speech, the army chief also appealed the cadets to keep abreast with new technology to counter the contemporary challenges.

    He said he was greatly honoured to review the parade.

    “A little over 42 years back, when I stood as a cadet at the same drill square as you stand today, little I could have imagined that I would be reviewing this parade,” he said.

    “From here on, you will step into the respective career service academies for more focused military training. You will don different uniforms, but always remember that no single service by itself can fight and win modern wars,” he added.

  • LoC silent in March; terror infrastructure in Pakistan remains intact: Army Chief Gen MM Naravane

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane has evinced hope that the ceasefire reiteration at the Line of Control with Pakistan will stay. The reason being no incident of ceasefire violation has happened since the joint announcement and also because it has the Pakistan Army’s support.

    General Naravane said, “The whole month of March, we didn’t witness even a single round being fired on the LoCbarring one incident. It is for the first time in about five to six years that the LoC has been silent. This really bodes well for the future.” Chief was speaking at an event in Delhi.

    There were talks between the DsGMO (Directors General Military Operation) of India and Pakistan and a joint statement was issued on 25 Feb, agreeing to resuscitate the ceasefire understanding of 2003.

    While General Naravane said that post the resuscitation of ceasefire peace and tranquillity will be prevailing on the border and it will contribute to the peace and stability of the country.

    Army Chief attributed the ceasefire as it was prompted by the futility of duels on the LoC which was not resulting in any forward movement. Enumerating the reasons which led to it, General said, “Financial Action Task Force sanctions, domestic compulsions and situation on their (Pakistan’s) Western border with Afghanistan.” are the three reasons for Pakistan’s move for peace:

    But, the chief clarified that while peace has come to the borders, “However terror infrastructure and terrorists still remain in place and we will have to wait till the snow melts in order to see the seriousness with which Pakistanis treat this ceasefire.”

    Demonstrating hope that the ceasefire will succeed General said, “We have reasons to be hopeful as the Pakistani Army is on board. Since the firing along the LoC was done to give cover to the terrorists attempting to infiltrate and there has been no firing recently, there is cause to be optimistic about the future.”

    We need to wait and see how things develop before we make any concrete assessment, he added.

    Talking about the Line of Actual Control Army Chief stressed the need to demarcate it at the earliest.

    “Though troops from both sides have disengaged and gone back, the threat has not abated but not dissipated. Unless a substantial amount of de-escalation takes place and the troops that had come from multiple places and are currently within striking distance of the border go back, the threat remains.” Said General MM Naravane.

  • Army likely to start using SAI for internal communications from April 1

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: From April 1, the Indian Army is likely to start using SAI (Secure Application for Internet), a messaging platform, for internal communications, Army chief General M M Naravane said on Wednesday.

    He said the application, developed by Colonel Sai Shankar, is undergoing the process of getting cyber and security clearance and data testing.

    “One of our officers has developed a software application, which is the equivalent of WhatsApp.”

    “We plan to introduce that throughout the Indian Army. It is undergoing cyber clearance, security clearance and data testing. And maybe from April 1, we will only use that for our internal communications,” Naravane said at a webinar organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation.

    The application supports end-to-end secure voice, text and video-calling services for Android platforms over the internet.

    The model is similar to commercially available messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, SAMVAD and GIMS, and utilises the end-to-end encryption messaging protocol.

    SAI scores over these platforms in terms of security features with local in-house servers and coding, which can be tweaked as per requirements.

  • Improvement in J-K security situation but Pakistan-sponsored terror remains threat: Army chief

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Army chief Gen M M Naravane Wednesday said that there is “definitely a great improvement” in the internal security situation in Jammu and Kashmir but Pakistan-promoted terror still remains a threat.

    He said Pakistan is committed to the strategy of supporting terrorism in all its forms as terrorist launchpads continue to be operated and terrorists continue to be there on the other side of the Line of Control looking for an opportunity to cross over.

    Naravane exuded confidence that with continued engagement with Pakistan, there could be some sort of an understanding because “unsettled borders and violence on the borders help no one”.

    “We are always wanting peace and tranquillity in our border areas, whether it be the western front or the northern front and the LAC (Line of Actual Control). Or whether it is on the Indo-Myanmar border, we are always looking for peace and tranquillity and our role is to ensure that so as to the rest of the nation can develop,” Naravane said.

    The Army chief was speaking at a webinar organised by Vivekananda International Foundation.

    ALSO READ | Disengagement win-win situation for India and China: Army chief Gen MM Naravane

    Talking about terrorism in the Valley, Naravane said the winter months are always a little bit of a lull period when the passes are closed and snowfall is heavy.

    He said with the waning of winter, as the passes open and the onset of summer, the Army is always prepared for a fresh influx from across the border.

    “But having said all that, there is definitely a great improvement in the internal security situation in the union territory of J&K. When I say that, I don’t say that just based on the emotion but on various parameters you can judge the figures,” Naravane said.

    He said the number of terrorist-initiated incidents has gone down so have the incidents of infiltration bids across the LoC.

    He added that there were no instance of stone pelting, no incidents of IED attacks.

    “These are facts and figures which speak for themselves that there has been an improvement on the ground in the J&K. However, that threat still remains a threat in being.”

    “The Pakistan angle and the terror angle still remain a threat in being,” he said.