On 8th December, HQ Southern Command and Pune International Centre (PIC) hosted the 1st Gen Bipin Rawat Memorial Seminar on the topic, ‘Transformation Imperatives for Indian Armed Forces’ at the Charak Auditorium, Command Hospital, Pune Camp. The event was organised in memory of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces. Lt Gen Vinayak Patankar (Retd), Convener of PIC’s PDNS (Pune Dialogue on National Security), played a key role in conceptualising and organising the event.

The seminar dwelt on issues that were close to the late General Bipin Rawat’s heart and on which he was focussed relentlessly as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Mrs Krithika Rawat, daughter of the late General Bipin Rawat, attended the event. Both, Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh and Lt Gen Patankar paid rich tributes to the late Gen Rawat and spoke of the significance of his initiatives for defence preparedness. The Army Commander elaborated on the roadmap laid by the first CDS for seamless integration between traditional ethos and modern technologies to strengthen the nation. He brought out the challenges faced by the Armed Forces and highlighted the increasing influence of India in the present geopolitical order.

A number of eminent speakers including Mr Vijay Gokhale, former Foreign Secretary; Dr Ajay Kumar, former Defence Secretary; and veteran service speakers such as Lt Gen Subrata Saha (Retd), Lt Gen Sanjeev Langer (Retd), Lt Gen PS Rajeshwar (Retd), Lt Gen SS Hasabnis (Retd), Lt Gen AK Singh (Retd), Air Mshl SS Soman (Retd) and Rear Admiral Praveen Nair spoke at the various sessions in the half-day seminar. The event witnessed overwhelming response from all three services, with officers from National Defence Academy, INS Shivaji, Western Naval Command, Mumbai, Air Force Station, Lohegaon, and members of PIC and CASS (Centre for Advanced Strategic Studies, Pune) participating in the event.

The proceedings were broadcast live for all the outstation formations of HQ Southern Command.