Rajnath Singh on Global Disorder and Future Warfare
Why in the news
Speaking in April 2025 at a staff college graduation, the Defence Minister described a world in flux and urged officers to prepare for technology-led conflict.
Key facts
- He said using trade and finance as weapons, supply-chain dependence, tech monopolies and opaque data flows are eroding global institutions.
- He saw a drift to unilateralism and self-reliance, signalling a fading world order.
- Drivers of flux: de-globalisation, nationalism, resource scarcity, migration, food insecurity, climate change, pandemics.
Warfare
- Tech: AI, robotics, autonomy, drones, quantum, blockchain.
- Ukraine-Russia war: drones outweighed artillery and armour; Low Earth Orbit assets aid surveillance, positioning and communication.
- Warfare now spans space, cyberspace, undersea, information and economic domains; cyberattacks and disinformation can gain goals without direct conflict.
India’s challenges
- Persistent threats on northern and western borders, aggravated by proxy wars and cross-border terrorism.
- Officers urged to think critically and track technology.
Year of Reforms, 2025
- Focus: technology upgrades, integrated multi-domain operations, acquisition reform.
- Progress reported in nine identified sectors.
Exam angle
- Venue: Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
- 2025 labelled Year of Reforms by the Defence Ministry.