Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said logistics management by various agencies was a deciding factor in the success of Operation Sindoor launched by the Indian armed forces in May, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan post the Pahalgam attack.
Singh was addressing students and faculty members virtually at the 3rd convocation ceremony of Vadodara-based Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, a university under the Ministry of Railways.
"The speed at which the world is changing is both impressive and shocking. The defence sector is also transforming, and major changes are being witnessed in the methods of warfare. In today's era, wars are not won by guns and bullets alone, but by their time-bound delivery," the minister said.
Singh stressed that the handling of logistics decides a country's fate on the battlefield.
Victory and defeat are decided by logistics, and the whole world had witnessed this during Operation Sindoor, he said.
"Logistics management was a deciding factor in the success of Operation Sindoor. The way various agencies managed logistics right from mobilisation of our armed forces to delivering the required material at the right place at the right time has proved to be a deciding factor in the success of the operation," Singh said.
He said logistics should not be seen only as a process of delivering goods, but must be considered a strategically important sector.
"It is logistics that makes a battlefield a battlefield. Without logistics, it will become a confusion zone. There is no meaning if arms and ammunition don't reach the right place at the right time during a war. The stronger our logistics management is, the stronger our borders will be," he said.
"Today, we are in a time where power is not measured only by weapons, but by timely resource management. Be it war, disaster or global pandemic, it has been proven that a nation which keeps its logistics chain strong is the most stable, secure and capable," he said.
For the Army, logistics means that weapons, fuel, rations and medicines reach remote areas without delay, and for the Navy, it is important to ensure that spare parts and other equipment are available to the ships in time, Singh said.
"And, it is important for our Air Force to ensure that the jets continue their flights without any hindrance with the help of ground support and uninterrupted fuel supply. Just imagine, if we have advanced missile systems but the electronics needed to launch them don't arrive in time, then that technology is of no use," the minister said.
He said the 'PM Gati Shakti' initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an extension of the idea of logistics integration.
Under this initiative, a multi-modal logistics ecosystem is being created by integrating modes of transport such as roads, railways, waterways and air transport, Singh said.
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