eGovWatch: Indian Army aims to become a ‘100% digital’ force

Indian Army is aiming for a highly encrypted Cloud storage system for itself, similar to that of Google, to store data as it is working towards becoming a “100 per cent digital” force.

Army sources, however, said the infrastructure for a Cloud storage system already exists but has not been made operational because of the present policy. “A policy review is under consideration”.

Once Cloud system becomes operational, it would store all non-classified information of every Indian soldier which can
be accessed by authorised personnel as and when needed, they added.

The Army has already initiated a full-fledged digitisation programme under which every unit and each soldier would become digitally savvy. Each Indian Army unit will have data capability with high bandwidth connectivity.

Apart from these, the Army is also working on a data-radio set that can transmit video from a border post in LoC or the Line of Actual Control to the headquarters here live, they said.

“The Army has already initiated programmes to connect every soldier to its secluded central data bank through hard-wired links,” sources said, adding that a digital literacy programme has been initiated.

Presently, all Army battalion headquarters are connected through the Wide Area Network (WAN) which provides secure
communications between units through a desktop-to-desktop messaging application.

Asked if Chinese equipment would be used in the digitisation programme, sources said, most were being done indigenously.

“Any foreign component undergoes strict security checks,” they said, adding that while Indian Army is already digital to
a large extent, it is aiming for being “100 per cent digital”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in October told the Combined Commanders’ Conference: “When we speak of Digital
India, we would also like to see a Digital Armed Force”.

He had asked the Services to give serious thought to upgrade technological skills for effective projection of power by men.