Army chief General Manoj Pande said here on Tuesday the Indian Army is alive to the imperative of transformation, and it is with a progressive outlook, that it intends, to not only change, but to change at a good pace too.

The Army chief especially underlined the importance of "technology infusion" and "self-reliance" in the armed forces, saying both are distinct yet interconnected.

Making this point while paying tributes to former Army Chief General K Sundarji, he also said the holistic transformation of the Indian Army “we put into effect two years ago, is part of our efforts to give shape to a modern, agile, adaptive, technology enabled and self-reliant future ready force.”

The 4th General Sundarji Memorial Lecture was organised by the Indian Army in Manekshaw Centre to commemorate the legacy of one of India’s foremost military thinkers General K Sundarji.

The lecture was conducted under the aegis of Mechanised Infantry Centre and School (MIC&S) and Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).  

The event was attended by serving and retired officers of the three Services as well as literati and various think tanks. The lecture remembered the dynamic and visionary General K Sundarji, the 13th Chief of the Army Staff, who is also fondly called as the ‘Father of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment’.

General Manoj Pande delivered the keynote address and underscored the foresight of General Sundarji. He highlighted  Sundarji’s vision in the fields of digitisation of the battlefield, Information Warfare, technology infusion, conventional strategies and force structure, reflected in his work ‘Vision 2100’.

The eminent speakers NN Vohra, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, shared his experiences with General Sundarji and  also expressed his thoughts on ‘Need for National Security Policy’ while Lieutenant General Subrata Saha (Retired), former Deputy Chief of Army Staff and Member National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) delivered a talk on, “Modernising India’s Armed Forces: Lessons from Gen K Sundarji”.