Army Vice-Chief flags 2047 agenda: Social, communal harmony, manufacturing, jobs

“Hamari kamzoriyan kya kya hai — sabse pehle environmental change jo ho raha hai; doosra, hamara manufacturing sector jo hai, itna strong nahi hai; teesra, utna employment opportunities nahin hai hamare paas… hamare borders, chahe China ke saath ho, chahe Pakistan ke saath ho, abhi developed nahin hain; aur hamara human development index mein hame improvement karne ki zaroorat hai (Now about the weaknesses. First, the change in environment (climate); second, our manufacturing sector which is not as strong; third, we don’t have that many employment opportunities… our borders, be it with China or Pakistan are not developed. We also need to improve our human development index),” he said.

Lt General Subramani said that to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 the country should aim to settle the borders and have “social and communal harmony” within.

“Do hazaar saintalis mein kaise hona chahiye?… Hamara response mechanism integrated hoga, hamare antrik problems solve ho chuke honge, J&K, Northeast, LWE saare… hum is par control kar chuke honge purey dhang se usko suljha chuke honge, taaki hamare poorey desh mein social aur communal harmony ho aur Bharat Viksit Bharat 2047 tak ban jaye (How do we want 2047 to be like? Our response mechanism will be integrated, our internal problems would have been solved, J&K, Northeast, LWE… we would have been able to control these issues, completely resolved them so that social and communal harmony is there and the country becomes Viksit Bharat by 2047).”

“What do we want by 2047? That our borders be fully developed , our relations with China and Pakistan… Jammu & Kashmir and North East remain integrated and normal, and we secure ourselves with technology-oriented solutions,” he said.

On internal security, he said that after the abrogation of Article 370, Jammu & Kashmir had seen more than 60 per cent turnout in the Assembly elections. “Now there is an elected government. Even though there are minor terrorist incidents, the Army, the Central Armed Police Forces and the state administration have together controlled the situation. The North-East witnessed violence in Manipur, and presently the situation is under control, and it will take more time to control it.”

For external security, Lt General Subramani said it should be ensured that the immediate neighbourhood stays economically connected with India. “Looking at our immediate neighbourhood… Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives and Afghanistan, our effort should be to see they are stable and stay economically connected with us and are not influenced by others. When we talk of external security, we have a long border with China which is unsettled… We had strained and tense relations with China, and it has become stable but remains sensitive… China will also try to enter into the strategic space of India, like neighbouring countries Myanmar, Bangladesh, and create influence on them.”

“By 2047, we will focus on defence manufacturing sectors including arms and weapons and we will also export to other countries,” he said.