By IANS
New Delhi : Outgoing Indian Army Chief J.J. Singh Friday said that in his two and a half year of tenure the number of causalities while fighting insurgency had reduced by one-third.
“In my tenure the number of casualties at all battle fronts, where army is deployed, have almost reduced to one-third,” Singh told reporters after handing over the charge of chairman chief of staff committee to Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta here.
The army chief said that situation at border areas was peaceful and infiltration had reduced in Jammu and Kashmir and in the northeast region, especially in Manipur and Assam area.
Singh said that he had always preferred modernisation and coordination of the armed forces to jointly and effectively battle out any exterior threat to the nation.
“We are gradually modernising the forces and it is also very important for the soldiers to absorb new technology and exploit them for better use. I have always focused on the modern weaponry, specially in the area of enhancing night fighting capabilities,” the army chief added.
Asked if Army was under any political pressure to reject the Bofors artillery gun, Singh said: “There is no political pressure of any kind. For us lives are very important and we have informed the government about our future needs and weaponry on the basis of tests conducted by several top officials by themselves.”
In his farewell speech as chairman of chief of staff committee, he stressed on better coordination among the three armed forces, improved remuneration for the defence personnel in the sixth pay commission and quick implementation of phase-II of Ajai Vikram Singh (AVS) committee report.
Singh was named as the 22nd Chief of Army Staff on Nov 27, 2004. He retires from service on Sep 30.