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Under Operation Sindoor, Indian forces dismantled panic infrastructure, punctured a long-standing strategical assumption, and past stopped "deliberately and purposefully", and it reflected "smart power" successful its astir implicit expression, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said connected Tuesday (May 19, 2026).
In his code astatine a seminar hosted astatine the Manekshaw Centre successful New Delhi, helium besides said that 12 months ago, India offered the satellite a "partial answer" to the alleged astute powerfulness question.
"On the intervening nighttime of May 6-7 successful 2025, Bharat acted. In a precisely defined 22-minute cognition window, Operation Sindoor delivered subject precision, accusation control, diplomatic signalling and economical resolve, arsenic 1 coherent nationalist act. We struck deep, dismantled panic infrastructure, punctured a agelong lasting strategical assumption, and past stopped, deliberately and purposefully," the Army main said
"The deliberate thought aft 88 hours, was astute powerfulness successful its astir implicit expression, knowing precisely which instrumentality to apply, astatine what intensity, and precisely erstwhile to person a subject infinitesimal into a strategical one," helium asserted.
The seminar, titled, 'Security to Prosperity: Smart Power for Sustained National Growth', hosted by defence think-tank Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), was attended by elder subject officials, assorted retired Army officers and representatives from respective countries.
Gen Dwivedi said the "world astir america is sending a much analyzable awesome — disorder, distrust, and dichotomy successful alliances".
"We were promised a satellite wherever prosperity would marque powerfulness authorities obsolete... instead, we person a satellite wherever powerfulness authorities is being utilized to reorganise prosperity," helium argued.
In his address, helium asked the assemblage if astute powerfulness is the "defining currency" of sustained nationalist growth, oregon has the "raw calculus of hard power", erstwhile again reclaimed the centrestage of the planetary order.
But to reply it, 1 indispensable archetypal work the satellite arsenic it is, not arsenic 1 wishes it to be, the wide serviceman cautioned.
"The 21st period opened with a assured thesis that forces of trade, proviso chains, further connectivity, would marque nations excessively interdependent to conflict. Paradoxically aforesaid forces that promised binding nations together, person progressively go instruments of coercion," the Army main said.
"Semiconductors and their selective availability person go tools for hedging. The Strait of Hormuz has go a portion of progressive contestation. Global defence spending has crossed $2.7 trillion, exceeding the full UN fund for Sustainable Development Goals," helium added.
The bound betwixt information and prosperity, is "no longer a boundary" astatine all. Contemporary conflicts present enforce sustained demands, not lone connected equipped forces, but besides connected concern production, probe systems, and governance structures, the wide serviceman underlined.
Gen Dwivedi successful his code emphasised that information is nary longer a outgo that prosperity indispensable bear, it is the pre-condition for prosperity to commence its progressive journey.
"So successful this world, fractured, accelerated moving, and unforgiving, what indispensable beryllium the architecture of India's astute power. He cited Joseph Nye, who gave the conception of astute powerfulness — describing it arsenic the strategical quality to cognize which instrumentality to deploy, with what strength and towards what end.
"For India, it means, utilizing nationalist spot with strategical contented to unafraid peace, accelerate growth, and signifier the planetary situation successful our favour," Gen Dwivedi said.
In his address, the Army main offered a moniker of 'SMART' and explained what each components of it stood for, and however it tin assistance arsenic a strategical plan to navigate the contiguous geostrategic landscape.
"I usage the connection 'SMART', the acronym not arsenic a absorption construct, but a surviving model for however we indispensable think, prepare, and enactment successful the satellite we present face nether the umbrella of the caller mean of hard power," Gen Dwivedi said.
"The archetypal is 'S' oregon statecraft. In a satellite that rewards those who simultaneously run crossed the DIME (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, and Economic) construct, we indispensable maestro the creation of deploying each instrumentality of nationalist powerfulness with precision and coherence," helium underlined.
The 2nd is 'M' oregon manufacturing depth. As proviso chains get fragmented and exertion gets leveraged, if not weaponised, a federation that cannot nutrient what it needs volition yet suffer the quality to determine what it wants, the wide serviceman cautioned.
The 3rd 1 is 'A' oregon accelerating innovation arsenic portion of the premier minister's clarion telephone of JAI (jointenes, atmanirbharta and innovation), and the 4th is 'R' that is resilience, the Army main said.
"And, the past 1 is 'T' that is exertion primacy. Whoever commands the exertion stack successful the adjacent decade, volition instrumentality to bid the struggle outcomes. We indispensable not simply sorb emerging technologies. We indispensable indigenise, operationalise, and pb successful them," helium asserted.
