Army Chief Warns of Non-Kinetic Warfare, Calls for Whole-of-Nation Readiness
A late-November Chanakya Defence Dialogue will extend the Army’s transformation push into a wider policy conversation.
Overview
- Speaking at New Delhi’s Manekshaw Centre on October 31, Gen Upendra Dwivedi said conflict is increasingly non-kinetic and non-contact, requiring military strength alongside intellectual, technological and moral preparedness.
- He highlighted three active threat vectors: traditional rivalries and collusive challenges, persistent terrorism and proxy war, and disinformation aimed at fracturing social cohesion.
- He cast India’s demographic profile as a strategic advantage, noting over 65% of citizens are under 35 and urging youth contributions in labs, startups, think tanks and on the battlefield.
- He said the Army has engaged 16 technology clusters, expanded outreach to IITs and launched a paid Army internship programme in 2025 to channel talent into defence innovation.
- Organisers announced Chanakya Defence Dialogue 2025 for November 27–28 with the theme “Reform to Transform: Sashakt and Aur Surakshit Bharat,” and the event referenced recent Operation Sindoor, with Col Sofiya Qureshi among attendees.