NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Monday underlined the need to deepen integration between the military and civil components of the defence ministry to foster greater synergy within the defence ecosystem to tackle evolving security and technological challenges, while ensuring institutional memory, stability and the effective application of rules and regulations.Addressing the 85th Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services Day celebrations in Delhi on Aug 3, he emphasised that both uniformed and civil services share the same commitment of ‘Nation First’, and when the objective is singular, every element of the system transforms into national strength.Rajnath underlined that military and administrative integration cannot proceed along separate paths, adding that, as joint and integrated structures develop, there will be a need for continuity and expertise across all areas — policy, administration, human resource management, financial processes, logistics, and institutional knowledge. He highlighted the importance of further enhancing structured cross-exposure between civilian and military officers, suggesting joint training programmes and developmental assignments for both sides to learn from each other’s experiences.“Military officers bring operational experience, a command perspective, and an understanding of warfare, while civilian officers contribute through administrative continuity, policy experience, an understanding of government processes, and institutional memory. When these strengths combine, decision-making becomes more informed, balanced, and effective,” Rajnath said.Explaining with the example of ‘cyber warfare’, the minister stated that if officers of the AFHQ civilian services develop defence-specific common cyber tools leveraging their expertise, it could prove beneficial to the defence forces. He said a forum could be developed for the study of Indian military history, examining it from a civilian perspective, thereby fostering fresh ideas and new perspectives. He expressed confidence that, by leveraging expertise in such areas, AFHQ civilian services will be able to make more meaningful contributions to the defence sector.Rajnath called upon the AFHQ civilian services to evolve into the “strategic brain” of India’s defence management architecture by developing a comprehensive understanding of the defence sector, functioning effectively in a joint environment, and continuously enhancing its expertise to face the emerging challenges.
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While he acknowledged the AFHQ civilian services for moving ahead in sync with changing times, he asserted that, at a time when modern warfare is driven by technological dynamism, the cadre must move beyond its specific mandate of proper implementation of service rules, regulations & orders.“A military derives its strength not merely from weapons and ammunition, but also from the thousands of unseen hands that always stand in their support. AFHQ Civilian Services is one of these unseen yet decisive forces. It must focus on strengthening the security architecture through research, geo-strategic thinking & innovative ideas. Its active participation in core defence matters is essential as, being a permanent cadre of the Ministry of Defence, it possesses deep domain knowledge,” Rajnath said.
