I am delighted to be with you today in this colourful, solemn and inspiring ceremony. It gives me great pleasure to present the Standard to the 81 Armoured Regiment. My greetings to Commanding Officer and officers, Junior Commissioned Officers and other ranks of the 81 Armoured Regiment.

During the last three decades 81 Armoured Regiment has been carrying out many operations in our borders, internal security operations and providing assistance to civil administration. Recognizing the acts of courage and bravery demonstrated by 81 Armoured Regiment, 18 medals of various types have been awarded to them including one Shaurya Chakra, one Param Vishist Seva Medal and one Vishist Seva Medal.

81 Armoured Regiment

When I study the major operations and important achievements of 81 Armoured Regiment, two operations, namely, Operation Rakshak and Operation Meghdoot comes to my mind. As part of Operation Rakshak, your regiment kept the line of communication open in spite of many efforts by the terrorists to disrupt road communications. Your regiment also ensured that the State and Parliamentary elections were conducted peacefully and the area you were responsible witnessed up to 95% voting. Also, many of the officers of the Regiment have served voluntarily in Siachen glacier in Operation Meghdoot during the last fifteen years.

I would like to mention one of the interesting achievement of Sowar Ritu Raj Pandey of 81 Armoured Regiment. While he was on leave with his brother in Patna he heard scream and shout on the road. He found that three armed persons were trying to snatch and rob Shri Sanjay Kumar of his video camera. The victim was desperately shouting for help. But no one was ready to come forward and help him. Sowar Ritu Raj came to the rescue of Shri Sanjay Kumar without caring for his own life. He was shot on his shoulder and seriously injured. In spite of the injury he saved Shri Sanjay Kumar Pandey. This is an example of soldiers performing their duty towards their countrymen in exercising their societal responsibility. I am sure all the soldiers assembled here will follow this model and come to the rescue of their brethren when they are in need, apart from performing their regular military duties.

The prosperity of the nation, even if it is achieved by the year 2020 does not ensure the prosperity and the safety of the people, if we are not able to inculcate discipline among our youth. When I see you all in 81 Armoured Regiment with a disciplined life and love for the nation, I am certain people of our nation need disciplined life. Military training is essential for our youth. The NCC training imparted by services rightly fits in towards the evolution of enlightened citizens which indeed is a foundation for the developed India. Hence I would recommend that all youth should be provided two years of compulsory NCC training, either at the plus two stage or at the college level.

Emergence of new Technologies

We should make efforts to reduce the number of casualties occurring in each operation. The advent of new technologies has provided a new dimension for surveillance and in dealing with adversaries. Advanced sensors have become crucial for surveillance and to forewarn many situations. The provision of state of the art communication systems including secured mobile systems, night vision devices, battle field surveillance radars, information technology solutions, micro gadgets, intelligent networking with security and precision weapons can provide better solutions for critical operations and provide force multiplication. Such intelligence systems will help you to plan and execute difficult and complex missions with precision and low casualty rate. With the use of these technologies I am sure, you will come out with flying colors in all your operations and future warfare. I am also confident that 81 Armoured Regiment will very soon be equipped with the indigenously developed Main Battle Tank ?Arjun?. Induction of our own tanks will enable continued availability of product support and provide the necessary force multiplication for our troops. Production agency has to increase the production capacity by having suitable public -- private partnership. Many times our regiments may not have actual war experience. However, in today?s technological world, war simulation both in hardware simulation and digital simulation are possible. I am sure, our Army has all the capability to simulate warfare so that armoured troops are trained and maintained in peak of efficiency at all times.

I congratulate you on your remarkable turnout, bearing and steadfastness on parade. I am delighted to present the standard to this 81 Armoured Regiment. I wish you success in all your missions.

May God bless you.

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