The Combined Commanders Conference (CCC) — a biennial event that brings together the country’s top military brass to discuss military matters and national security — has been postponed in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor conducted last month, The Indian Express has learnt.
The conference was scheduled to be held in Kolkata at the end of May or early June. While no concrete date has been finalised yet, it could now take place in August or September this year, defence sources said. They added that the timing will depend on the security situation at that time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi usually attends the conference, which is held every alternate year.
While Operation Sindoor is currently on pause, alertness levels remain high and are likely to stay elevated over the next several months. The final date for this year’s CCC will be decided after assessing the security situation over the next two to three months.
With Operation Sindoor conducted in May by the Indian military, its joint execution by the services and the lessons that emerged from it are likely to be key points of discussion when the conference is eventually held.
Motivation and combat leadership, the absorption of technology in the Armed Forces amid the increasing use of new-age technologies in global conflicts, the Agnipath scheme and its future, as well as the current security situation and preparedness—particularly along the northern and western borders and in the northeast—are expected to feature in the agenda.
The last CCC was held in March 2023 in Bhopal, where the top military leadership deliberated on a range of topics, including digitisation of data, challenges and opportunities posed by social media, defence exports, and the implementation of the Agnipath scheme.
That conference also featured discussions on reforms in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to enhance the capability development of the Armed Forces, and a review of Defence PSU reforms.
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The CCC prior to that was held at Kevadia in Gujarat in March 2021.
Each of the three services also holds its own service-specific commanders’ conference annually. In September last year, a two-day Joint Commanders’ Conference was held for the first time in Lucknow.
It was organised as a forum for the exchange of ideas, strategies, and best practices among India’s top Armed Forces leadership and officials from the Ministry of Defence. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had presided over the conference.
