Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Monday said that violence levels have come down in the last year along the Line of Control (LoC), adding that the army will relentlessly pursue its operations to counter terrorists alongside the LoC and hinterland.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Army Chief informed that “a total of 71 terrorists were eliminated in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 35 were in the hinterland and another 36 as a result of successful counter-infiltration operations” in 2023.

When asked about the measures and the overall security situation along the Line of Control, the Army Chief said, “Violence levels have come down. However, you mentioned the recent spurt in activities in Rajouri and Poonch. We have strengthened and reoriented our deployment both along the Line of Control and anti-infiltration obstacle systems as well as in the hinterland.”

“We are further improving our intelligence gathering in concert with the police and other agencies. The synergy between all agencies is being paid attention. Our operations to counter terrorists both along the Line of Control and hinterland will continue in a relentless manner,” he added.

On promoting Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the Indian Army, General Pande said, “One of the important lessons from the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict is the need for us to become self-reliant and reduce our import dependency to near zero. Added to this, we want to leverage innovation potential as well as a vibrant startup ecosystem in the country.”

He further informed that nearly 100 per cent of army procurements are going to be through the indigenous route in the future.

“As of date, the Army Design Bureau is looking at close to 350 design and development as well as research and development projects in which they are engaging with about 450 industries, including the DRDO. In terms of the cost, it comes to about Rs 1.8 lakh crore. This is what the Army Design Bureau is doing. So, in a way, for the Army, nearly 100 pc of our procurements in the last year and in the future are going to be through the indigenous route,” he said.

On the ‘Made-in-India’ weapon system deployed in the forward areas, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande said, “I mentioned infantry protected mobility vehicles or protected wheeled vehicles, which give you both protection as well as high mobility to deal with any such situation. We also have drones and UAVs of different types.”

“We are in the final stages of Quantum Computing trials and once that happens, we will have better secure communication through the Quantum Computing encryption and technology,” he added.