Centre clears Army strike corps along China border

The Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday approved formation of a new strike corps with close to 50,000 troops with artillery, armoured and helicopter components. Its function will be restricted towards China border in the east and north east.

The corps, which will be capable of launching an attack in the mountain and hilly terrains, will be formed over the next seven years at a cost of Rs 65,000 crore, according to sources.

Indian Army currently has three strike corps at Mathura (1 corps), Ambala (2 corps) and Bhopal (21 corps) besides 9 holding corps, which do not have support from engineers and has smaller armoured components. Out of the 12 corps, four had elements on the China border. But their operational role is mostly defensive.

The new corps was in the works for a few years. Last time it came before the CCS for approval, the top security panel headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the defence ministry to redraft the proposal after including an air component. The new proposal was cleared by the finance ministry last month. The new corps may have as many as four divisions as well as artillery, armoured and aviation components.

It will be headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal, with division and brigade headquarters in Bihar and Assam. The Army has already raised two divisions in Arunachal Pradesh.

Army Chief Gen Bikram Sing and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne were present at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for providing any possible clarifications, if any, sought by the CCS members, including Defence Minister A K Antony, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

As per the plans, the IAF too will deploy its force multiplier assets, like six upcoming mid-air refuellers and the next squadron of C-130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft at Panagarh, for the new corps.