New Delhi: In a move that could raise the hackles of its two neighbours Pakistan and China, India will soon raise two new division-sized army formations to give more teeth to its mountain warfare.
The defence ministry’s proposal to raise the two mountain divisions was approved recently by the cabinet committee on security, ministry sources said on Friday.
The proposed divisions will further enhance the Indian army’s tactical strength in its strategically important areas along the borders facing traditional rivals—Pakistan and China. Each division—with a personnel strength of 10,000 to 13,000 troops—will have a minimum of three brigades with a personnel strength of about 3,000 to 4,500 men each.
With options open to deploy on mountainous terrain anywhere along the borders with the two countries, the two new divisions could be raised in states from J&K to Arunachal Pradesh, including Himachal, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
The army already has 10 divisions dedicated to mountain warfare and another infantry division earmarked for high altitude operations. “The two new formations will be raised in a two-phased plan in about five years,’’ sources said.
In the first phase, which will be implemented in two years, headquarters of the two new divisions, along with a brigade each, would come up. Implementation of the second phase will take another two to three years during when the complete division would be ready for operation. <<back
