New Delhi, May 19: Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi addressed a national seminar on “Security for Prosperity: Smart Power for Sustainable National Development” on Tuesday. He led discussions on how the country can enhance its ‘smart power’ by integrating military, diplomatic, economic, and technological resources in response to the growing instability in the global environment, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.
He noted that semiconductors and their selective availability have become tools of strategic advantage, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as a hotspot for active competition.
Emphasizing that the boundary between security and prosperity has blurred, he stated that the vision for collective progress has been overshadowed by other national interests. He stressed the importance of expanding the nation’s ‘smart power’ in a fragmented, rapidly changing, and ruthless global landscape.
Detailing the potential framework for India’s ‘smart power,’ he referenced experts who describe it as strategic intelligence, indicating how and with what intensity resources should be deployed for specific objectives.
General Dwivedi asserted that for India, this means using national power strategically to establish peace, accelerate development, and shape the global environment in its favor.
He highlighted the need to complement traditional strategic frameworks of diplomatic, informational, military, and economic elements with new factors such as technology and a ‘whole nation’ approach.
He also remarked that we must first understand the world as it is, rather than how we wish it to be. The early 21st century began with the firm belief that trade, supply chains, and digital connectivity would make nations highly interdependent and less prone to conflict. Ironically, the very forces expected to unite nations have gradually become instruments of pressure.
General Dwivedi concluded that contemporary conflicts exert continuous pressure not only on armed forces but also on industrial production, research systems, and governance structures.
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