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Army gearing to tackle nuclear threat: Gen Padmanabhan

Army Chief-designate General S Padmanabhan Thursday said his thrust will be to increase operational efficiency and bring about organisational changes to ensure that the army was fully prepared to face both conventional and nuclear threats.

Cautioning about "calls for Jehad" emanating from the country's neighbourhood, Gen Padmanabhan, who takes over as the new Army Chief on Saturday, said that the contours of insurgency were dynamic and demanded a dynamic riposte.

"My thrust areas will also be to restore the izzat (prestige) of the soldier, improve the quality of life and service conditions of our officers and men," he said.

On the preparedness to face nuclear and biological warfare threats, Gen Padmanabhan, who will be the 20th Chief of the Army Staff since Independence, said in an interview that these threats had manifested at the end of the last decade "when our adversary covertly acquired nuclear capability."

"The army is being equipped within the budgetary constraints to meet this threat. It is an ongoing process. But I would not like to go into details about it", he said.

Gen Padmanabhan said that he would strive to see that state of art weapons, equipment and latest technology were introduced and absorbed as early as possible.

On reports of fatigue syndrome creeping into the army due to prolonged deployment in combating insurgency, he said, "We are aware about the effects of continued deployment of the army in combating insurgency and fighting the proxy war. We are however ensuring that it has minimal effect on our ability to meet the conventional threat."

He cautioned that the lines between the proxy war and conventional threats at the moment were blurred, adding that there were inextricable linkages between the two.

He said he would begin his tenure with a visit to forward areas in Jammu and Kashmir emphasised that the country could not ignore these realities.

He said the army was making efforts to keep pace with the changes in the shape and contours of warfare by appropriate restructuring and equipping of the forces.

"Towards this end, the increase in this year's defence budget is a welcome step," he said, adding that the armed forces should get an annual funding of three per cent of GDP in real terms.

"Such a step will ensure that while combating insurgency, our operational readiness to meet conventional threat is in no way affected", the army-chief designate said.

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