From 15th September to 17th September 2025, the Combined Commanders’ Conference (CCC) 2025 was conducted by the Armed Forces in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is the apex-level forum of the Armed Forces and the conference that brought together the highest decision-makers from the Ministry of Defence and the three services of Defence in order to foster strategic and conceptual dialogue. This was the first time the Prime Minister addressed all three forces in a conference since Operation Sindoor.
The theme for this year’s conference was ‘Year of Reforms- Transforming for the Future’, which reflects a goal to prepare the forces for emerging challenges. The CCC has a significant role in shaping the future roadmap, enhancing jointness, guiding capability, development, and ensuring alignment with the national security forces of the Armed Forces.
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh graced the conference and praised the exemplary dedication of the Armed Forces for serving and safeguarding the nation. Both ministers also highlighted the need for continuous reforms and technological self-reliance, while emphasizing the importance of indigenous development in defense manufacturing.
PM Modi also directed the defense ministry to ‘swiftly implement concrete steps’ in order to achieve greater Aatmanirbharta , Jointness, and Innovation to meet future defense challenges. The Prime Minister gave such directives in the view of the continuing differences among the army, navy, and IAF for an integrated and cost-effective war machinery and creation of tri-service integrated theatre commands (ITCs).
Currently, India has 17 single-service commands, Army-7, IAF-7, and Navy-3; these do not have the required synergy in planning, logistics, and operations. In comparison, the plan of the government is to have two advisory specific ITCs- one at Lucknow for the Northern Borders with China and the other at Jaipur for the Western Front with Pakistan.
In the context of the “new normal” created by the Operation Sindoor, the Prime Minister also reviewed the war readiness and security situation of the armed forces, and meanwhile briefed on the future of warfare with reference to new emerging technology.
Day 2 on 16th September, delved into the increasing significance of information warfare. The ‘Joint Military Space Doctrine’ was also released, marking a key milestone in institutionalising this sphere as a part of national security strategy.
On this note, Day 3 focused on understanding emerging threats and future challenges as the security landscape is evolving rapidly. An insightful session was also organised by the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) and provided a detailed update on the Year of Reforms, elaborating on the action plans that were formulated as the directions given by the Prime Minister and Defense Minister.
The conference concluded with CDS’ remarks as he summarized key outcomes and reiterated the commitment of the Armed Forces. It marks a successful conduct of CCC 2025, a major step in the direction of transforming the Armed Forces into a more technologically advanced, integrated, and operationally agile force that is future-ready and fully capable of addressing issues such as multi-domain threats, safeguarding national interests, and contributing to nation-building in an increasingly complex global environment.
(Rh/MG/NS)
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