Be equipped for asymmetric wars: President

A total of 269 Officer Cadets, including 217 Gentleman Cadets, 32 Lady Cadets, besides 19 Gentleman Cadets and one Lady Cadet from friendly Foreign Countries, were inducted as Officers at the Passing Out Parade held at the Officers Training Academy here. 

Addressing the newly inducted officers after reviewing the Passing Out Parade commanded by Academy Under Officer Varun Singh Chauhan, he said “Our security challenges in fact go much beyond conventional borders and conventional threats in the international arena including a sizeable diaspora to protect in unstable regions of the world, energy security issues and protection of maritime sea lanes.” 

Though turbulence and uncertainty have manifested all along in the history of mankind, this century was witnessing chaos and strife of a very virulent nature encompassing asymmetric warfare involving both state and non-state actors, he said.

“Always remember that the acme of a great and powerful Army does not lie in the power it can unleash but the manner and dexterity with which it does so. When you are battling odds that seem insurmountable remember there are a billion hopes pinned on your young and brave shoulders,” the President told the officers. 

He said he saw before him a microcosm of what India was with representation from every part of the country constituting this impressive Passing out Parade. 

He said he was gladdened to see Officer Cadets from friendly countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Lesotho. 

The recently retired RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan came in for praise from the President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday for the clean-up of more than USD 100 billion of stressed assets from the books of the banks. Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank in Chennai he said that Rajan took many appropriate steps to put the system in the right direction.