Bipin Rawat: Army personnel can't be denied use of smartphones

New Delhi, Sept 4 Army personnel can't be denied the use of smartphones, Army chief Bipin Rawat said Tuesday, underlining that social media can be used for psychological warfare and to combat proxy war, insurgency and terrorism.

He said an study was being attempted for the restructuring of the Army headquarters as an organisation was required set up at all levels for leveraging social media.

Referring to a mobile application designed for the welfare of soldiers and officers, Rawat said if applications are being made for them at that point how might they be prevented the use of smartphones.

The Army chief said if the military don't keep pace with time and the way in which the web based life is pushing ahead then it will be "fire-fighting" to keep up with time.

Delivering a keynote address on 'Social media and the Armed Forces' to a gathering of senior officials from the three equipped administrations, Rawat said web-based social media can be leveraged for psychological warfare and deception not just in conventional warfare, as well as in battling intermediary war insurgency and terrorism.

"For doing this, we need an association set up at all levels. It is in the setting of this, we have embraced an examination in the Army central station for rebuilding the home office inside. How would we at that point guarantee that the internet based life stage turns into a vital assistant of our data fighting system. Do we require a Directorate General of Information Warfare?

"Would we be able to amalgamate a portion of our current assets and guarantee that online life turns into an integral part of our life in the Army." Rawat said.

Military faculty are not urged to use smartphones due to the sensitivity of their job.

Referring to this, Rawat said if the usage of smartphones can't be prevented then at any rate the individual should be trained how to use it in the correct way.

"If you need to bring some discipline, at that point you (should) have the means of imposing that discipline. In case, there is no way to force that train, at that point it is of no use passing order and directions which can be implemented," he said.

The Army, Rawat stated, is developing a mobile application Arpaan to benefit the soldiers, the officers the JCOs and their families in connecting with different fora and turning out with their issues and looking for answers to it.

"If we are making our own applications at that point how might we deny the use of smartphones to our soldiers.Smartphones are setting down deep roots. We should figure out how to use them further bolstering our advantage," he said.