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India 'test-beds' Integrated Battle Groups for China, Pak border: MM Naravane

Kashmir Times. Dated: 5/10/2020 10:57:05 PM

NEW DELHI, May 10 (Agencies): India's Army Chief Gen MM Naravane informed that army had planned to introduce Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) along the borders with China and Pakistan to help the Army carry out swift strikes in case of a war situation. He said that a "test-bedding" for the same had been completed but the roll out has been delayed for the forseeable future due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
"The roll out of the IBGs has been delayed due to the outbreak of the pandemic and the need to divert critical resources towards containment efforts," the Army Chief told agencies.
"However, I can assure you that we will roll out the IBGs in the requisite time frame as the conceptual groundwork has already been laid out and extensive test-bedding had already been carried out prior to the outbreak," he said.
An IBG is a mix of infantry, artillery, air defence, tanks and logistics units, as part of bringing a change in war fighting capability. Each IBG will be modelled on specific operational requirement in which the topography of the land will be taken into consideration and the threat perceptions as well.
In October 2019, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India, the Indian Army had carried out the "Him Vijay" exercise in Arunachal Pradesh primarily to test the effectiveness of these IBGs to check its effectiveness in combat situations at mountain terrain.
Though, he noted that there could be some disruptions in defence production and procurement due to the COVID-19 pandemic but calls it a temporary phase. The indigenous manufacturing will be impacted, he said, its magnitude will be much lower.