The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, addressed the annual seminar titled Multi-Domain Integrated Technologically-Empowered Resilient Armed Forces (MITRA) at the College of Defence Management (CDM) in Secunderabad on 24 February 2026. He said that as warfare expands from the physical to the synthetic and cognitive realms the Indian Armed Forces need to transition from net-centric operations toward Intelligent Warfare and move beyond Multi-Domain Operations to All Realm All Domain Operations (ARADO). He underlined the need to establish non-nuclear strategic deterrence and to ensure the ability to win at every level of escalation.

CDM hosted the seminar on 24 and 25 February with the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, acting as knowledge partner. The theme highlighted the so-called Third Revolution in Military Affairs, described as Convergence Warfare that fuses contact and non-contact together with kinetic and non-kinetic means and integrates older and newer domains across levels of conflict. Attendance included senior defence officials, scholars, industry partners and practitioners who took part in discussions on operational adaptation and technological empowerment.

The seminar was presented as a strategic platform to align contemporary lessons from conflict with India’s unique operational environment and to promote self-reliance and structural reform. Delegates focused on developing MITRA armed forces that are multi-domain in vision integrated in action technology-empowered in execution and resilient in purpose. Emphasis was placed on doctrine development, force design, and the management of future contestations under a comprehensive national power approach.

Established in December 1970 the College of Defence Management has remained a premier tri-service institution dedicated to equipping military leadership with contemporary management thought concepts and best practices. Over the years its annual seminars have addressed strategic challenges including self-reliance geopolitical shifts and leadership transformation reinforcing CDM’s role in shaping India’s military future. The event organisers said the 2026 seminar will continue to foster intellectual discourse and strategic foresight for a resilient India.