PM to be briefed on defence indigenisation, other projects

Five secretaries of the Defence Ministry will give a detailed presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the projects being carried out by them along with their future plans, at the Combined Commanders' Conference.

The Combined Commanders' Conference is the first meeting in the second tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is scheduled to be held this week in Kevadia, Gujarat.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, along with all the Commander-in-Chief rank officials from the three services will be attending the conference.

"Detailed presentations are being prepared by the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Defence, Department of Defence Production, Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare for the Prime Minister," defence officials told ANI.

"In the presentations, the respective secretaries would be giving details of their ongoing and future projects," the officials added.

The sources mentioned that the briefing by the Department of Defence Production Secretary Rajkumar is expected to give out a roadmap for the Aatmanirbhar Bharat projects in the field of the defence industry in the country.

The positive list for indigenisation being prepared by CDS General Bipin Rawat is also expected to come up for discussion.

The progress made by the defence space and cyber agencies along with the creation and timeframe of setting up the new air defence and maritime commands is also expected to be discussed by the top commanders with the prime minister.

The prime minister is expected to give directions to the forces about future security challenges and the government's views on them.

The ongoing military stand-off with China and how it is being dealt with by the forces is also expected to be discussed.

After the initial intrusion by the Chinese which caught the local troops by surprise, the Army headquarters and the Indian Air Force reacted with full might to retaliate against the Chinese aggression.

The issue was resolved to a large extent recently when the two sides disengaged from the front in the Pangong lake area but many friction points still exist and are yet to be resolved.