Govt activates 14 infantry battalions of Territorial Army for deployment
This story was originally published at 14:03 IST on 9 May 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Indian government has activated 14 infantry battalions of the Territorial Army for deployment for a period of three years, a gazette notification published Friday said. The notification, dated Tuesday, gives the Chief of the Army Staff the authority to call out "every officer and every enrolled person of the Territorial Army to provide for essential guard or to be embodied for the purpose of supporting or supplementing the regular army".
"Out of the existing 32 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army), embodiment of 14 Infantry Battalions (Territorial Army) for deployment in the areas of Southern Command, Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, South Western Command, Andaman and Nicobar Command and Army Training Command (ARTRAC)," the notification said regarding the extent to which the Chief of the Army Staff had the authority to call out Territorial Army personnel. The government order will come into effect on Saturday and will be in force until Feb. 9, 2028.
The Territorial Army, which has a strength of roughly 50,000 personnel, plays the role of relieving the regular army from static duties and assists the civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations "where life of the communities is affected or the security of the Country is threatened and to provide units for Regular Army as and when required", as per its website. Units of the Territorial Army were involved in the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars.
The order comes amid rising engagement between Indian and Pakistani armed forces in the wake of the deadly attacks in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on Apr. 22, which led to the death of 26 persons. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack. In response, India launched 'Operation Sindoor' earlier this week to destroy terrorist establishments in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan. The conflict has only intensified since then, with Pakistan launching multiple attacks on India's western border.
On Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting at South Block to review the security situation along the western border and operational preparedness of the Indian armed forces. Those in attendance included Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
Late Thursday, the Border Security Force thwarted an infiltration bid in Samba sector, Jammu and Kashmir, killing at least seven terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammad and caused extensive damage to the Pakistan post Dhandhar, an official with the BSF said. The infiltration bid was supported by gunfire from Pak Rangers of Dhandhar post, the BSF said. End
Reported by Siddharth Upasani
Edited by Ashish Shirke
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