NEW DELHI, 25 JULY

Asserting that Operation Sindoor "still continues", Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Friday said the country's military preparedness must remain at a "very high" level, round-the-clock and throughout the year.

In his keynote address at a defence seminar hosted at Subroto Park here, he also said the military in future will also need "information warriors, technology warriors and scholar warriors."

And, in an emerging landscape of warfare, a future soldier will need to be a mix of all three "info, tech and scholar warriors," the CDS said.

The seminar on 'Aerospace Power: Preserving India's Sovereignty and Furthering National Interests' was held under the aegis of the 'No.4 Warfare and Aerospace Strategy Programme'.

The CDS said there are no runners-up in a war, and any military must be constantly alert and maintain a high degree of operational preparedness.

"An example is Operation Sindoor, which still continues. Our preparedness level has to be very high, 24x7, 365 days (a year)," Gen Chauhan said.

India launched Operation Sindoor early on May 7 and decimated multiple terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

Pakistan also launched offensives against India, and all subsequent counter-offensives by India were also carried out under Operation Sindoor.

The military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours halted after they reached an understanding on the evening of 10 May.

The CDS also emphasised the importance of learning about both 'Shastra' (warfare) and 'Shaastra' (knowledge system).

Gen Chauhan defined a scholar warrior as a military professional who combines intellectual depth and combat skills, who possesses strong academic knowledge and practical military expertise that enable him to analyse complex situations and address "diverse challenges to meet military aims and objectives".

Tracing the relationship between a scholar and a warrior, from ancient Indian history, through the World Wars up to recent conflicts, the CDS highlighted that today's military professional must be a "well-calibrated mix of a scholar warrior, a techno warrior and an info warrior".

A technology warrior to understand and apply the new technologies that are changing the nature of warfare, and an "info warrior" to understand and explain India's perspective and counter wrong narratives.

Elucidating the changing character of warfare, especially as evinced through recent and ongoing conflicts, the CDS underscored the important role of a scholar warrior in modern warfare, emphasising their role in preserving India's sovereignty and furthering national interests.

Operation Sindoor was a critical focus and found ample mention during the two thematic sessions.

The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) also shared some photos of he event on X.

"He complimented the #IndianAirForce, College of Air Warfare and @CAPS_INDIA

for constantly evolving the scope of the program. #CDS awarded Certificates to 12 officers of #IndianArmedForces for their contribution in taking forward the strategic thought process," it said.

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh was also present on the occasion.