We continue to talk both at the military and diplomatic levels. We’ve enough reserves to deal with any contingency,” Army chief said.

Speaking on the occasion of Army Day, Pande said that modernisation remains a priority and lauded it as one of the main pillars for transformation. He said, “We have also decided that 2023 will be the year of transformation wherein we have laid out a specific roadmap for the outcomes we can achieve.

The Army Chief said that ceasefire along Line of Control is holding but cross-border support to terrorism remains. “As far as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, the ceasefire understanding which came about in February 2021 is holding well but cross-border support to terrorism and terror infrastructure however remains,” he said.

The Army Chief said that peace has returned to most of the states in the Northeast. “The economic activities and the development initiatives have yielded good results… This Army Day is special as it is also the 75th year of Independence,” he added.

He added that women officers would be commissioned into the Indian Army’s Corps of Artillery. “We have sent the proposal to the government and we hope that it will be accepted,” he said.