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Module - IV Indian Army

Armed Forces Today
13.3.1 Command and Control of the Indian Army

The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The
elected political leadership of the nation. The Government of India, controls the armed
forces. Executive control is exercised through the Union Cabinet, the Defence Minister,
the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the Chiefs of Army, Naval and Air Staff of
Note their respective Services. The Ministry of Defence handles matters related to personnel,
financial and resource management.

 Formations. Indian army units are grouped into formations. Each formation
has a size, role and equipment profile. All formations have a hierarchical command
and control set up. The Army Headquarters controls the entire structure.
 Command. Indian Army has six operational Commands and one training
command, each commanded by a General Officer Commanding- in Chief with
the rank of Lieutenant General. The Commands of Indian Army are:

o Northern Command
o Eastern Command
o Central Command

o Western Command
o South West Command
o Southern Command
o Army Training Command

 Corps. A Corps is an army field formation responsible for a particular area
under a Command. A Command generally consists of two or more Corps.

 Division. Division comes under a Corps. It generally consists of three or more
brigades of combat troops and support elements. Divisions can be Infantry
divisions, armoured divisions, artillery divisions etc.
 Brigade. A Brigade generally consists of three or more battalions comprising of
around 3000-5000 combat troops with supporting elements. Army also has
independent brigades, which directly operate under the Corps Commander.

 Battalion. A battalion consists of approximately 900 combat soldiers. It is the
main fighting unit.
 Company. A company consists of approximately 100 - 150 soldiers.

 Platoon. A platoon consists of 36 soldiers. A platoon is further divided into
three sections.
 Section. A section is the smallest military formation of the Army. The strength of
a section is ten soldiers.

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MILITARY HISTORY