Military Mind

COVID - 19 : Impact on Military Training Lt Gen Rajiv Bhalla The COVID pandemic has forced the military to terminate all activities being done collectively with special reference to training courses being conducted at various Institutions. While the field training can still continue to a limited extent, the individual training at these Centres of Excellence has been adversely hit. The tight schedule and timelines for training individuals for one of the largest armies are generally drawn up well in advance and any disruption impacts the future training schedules for the next set of individuals. As the threat of corona virus is not likely to go away in the near future, it is imperative to re-evaluate the training procedures in the military to avoid any loss of time on training of future leaders. The training Directorates / Cs-in –C of all the Services have a lot on their hands to retain the annual numbers being trained despite the unprecedented lockdown and restrictions in place. It is w...

The Migrants of Incredible India Lt Gen Rajiv Bhalla The Hon’ble PM ‘s announcement of the lockdown with effect from 25 th March 2020 came as much of a surprise as it was for demonetisation in Nov 2016. The extreme short notice for demonetisation was clearly understood and accepted by the population, but retrospectively, the sudden imposition of lockdown seems to be an hasty   decision as it left thousands of people stranded. The parliament session and probably other advisories may have been the key factors for delay in announcement of the lockdown without a lead time. The lockdown decision though very significant and urgently needed for a populated country like India, could however have been announced earlier with a lead time of 10 -12 days for people to decide to stay or shift as per their convenience. The extreme short notice instructions caused unthinkable misery to a very large section of the population, especially the poor, who leave their homes for seeking better opportun...