Indian Defence: Structure, Operations and Technology

India's SNC was formally established in 2003, with an Air Force officer, Air Marshall Asthana, as the commander-in-chief. The joint service SNC is the custodian of all of India's nuclear weapons, missiles and assets. It is also responsible for executing all aspects of India's nuclear policy.

Tessy Thomas is the first woman to head a missile project in the country. She has earned the name 'Agniputri' or 'Missile Woman'. Her role model, APJ Kalam placed her in the Agni missile programme.
Tessy Thomas is the project director for Agni V - the 5000 km ICBM. She is in charge of mission and guidance of Agni V.

The Integrated Space Cell is the nodal agency within the Government of India which oversees the security of its space-based military and civilian hardware systems. It is jointly operated by all the three services, the civilian Department of Space and ISRO.

Daksha is a state-of-the-art vehicle for bomb disposal units of the Army, Police and Paramilitary forces for handling improvised explosive devices and hazardous objects. It is the first indigenously developed unmanned mobile-robot in the country.

Cartosat-2A is an Earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit and the third of the Cartosat series of satellites. The satellite is the thirteenth satellite in the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite series to be built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation. This satellite is a Ministry of Defence mission for the Government of India. It is a dedicated satellite for the Indian Armed Forces, which is in the process of establishing an Aerospace Command.

The Partial Test Ban Treaty is a treaty prohibiting all test detonations of nuclear weapons except underground. It was developed both to slow the arms race (nuclear testing was, at the time, necessary for continued nuclear weapon advancements), and to stop the excessive release of nuclear fallout into the planet's atmosphere. India acceded to the treaty in 1963.

The Coast Guard came into being on 1^st February 1977 and was constituted as an independent armed force of the Union of India with the enactment of CG Act 1978 on 18^th August 1978.

A division is the largest striking force in the army. Each division is headed by GOC in the rank of Major General. It usually consists of 15000 combat troops.

A section is the smallest military outfit with a strength of 10 personnel. A platoon is intermediate between section and company. A company is a group of 3-4 platoons and has a strength of 120 soldiers. A battalion consists of more than 900 combat personnel. Three companies make a battalion.

The Ministry of Defence consists of four Departments; Department of Defence, Department of Defence Production, Department of Defence Research & Development, and Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.
The Indian Army is divided into six operational commands and one training command.

Operation Meghdoot was the code name for the Indian Armed Forces operation to capture the Siachen Glacier in the disputed Kashmir region, precipitating the Siachen Conflict. Launched on 13 April 1984, this military operation was unique as the first assault launched in the world's highest battlefield

The Indian Naval Academy (NAVAC, also known as INA or Ezhimala) is the initial officer training establishment of the Indian Navy, located in Ezhimala, Kerala. Situated between Mount Dilli and the Kavvayi backwaters, NAVAC has a 7 km beach front on the Arabian Sea. It conducts basic training for all officers inducted into the Indian Navy. It also currently trains Indian Coast Guard personnel.

India purchased the INS Vikrant from the United Kingdom in 1957. Upon her completion in 1961, she was commissioned as the first aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. After a distinguished service, she was decommissioned in January 1997. She has since been preserved as a maritime museum in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

Lakshya is an Indian remotely piloted high speed target drone system developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO. A variant Lakshya-1 is used to perform discreet aerial reconnaissance of battlefield and target acquisition.

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), under the Cabinet Secretariat, is responsible for coordinating and analyzing intelligence activities among R&AW, Intelligence Bureau and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).