Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to review operational preparedness of Southern Command in Pune

Singh will also felicitate 16 Olympians from the Army who competed at the Tokyo Olympics and rename the ASI stadium as the Neeraj Chopra Army Sports Stadium.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who will be in Pune for a day’s visit on Monday, will visit the headquarters of the Southern Command and review its operational preparedness.

Officials said that during the visit, Singh will be briefed by the top officials of the Southern Command in the presence of Army Chief General MM Naravane and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command Lieutenant General JS Nain.

The minister is also scheduled to preside over events at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) and the Defence Institute of Advanced Technologies (DIAT) at Girinagar near Pune. At ASI, Singh will felicitate 16 Olympians from the Indian Army who competed at the Tokyo Olympics. In his presence, the ASI sports stadium will be renamed as the Neeraj Chopra Army Sports Stadium, Pune Cantonment.

The defence minister will also interact with troops and budding sportspersons. ASI has so far produced 34 Olympians, 22 Commonwealth Games medallists, 21 Asian Games medallists, six Youth Games medallists and 13 Arjuna awardees.

At DIAT, Singh will attend the general body meeting, inaugurate a new building and interact with faculty and students.

The Pune-headquartered Southern Command of the Army is responsible for eleven states and four Union territories and covers nearly 41 per cent of the country’s landmass. Its formations, establishments and units are spread over 19 cantonments and 36 military stations. Because of its geographical location and the presence of command formations of the Navy and Air Force, the Army’s Southern Command has been key for the integration of tri-services.

It comprises two corps with their headquarters in Jodhpur and Bhopal. Among the static formations are the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa Area with its headquarters in Mumbai and the Dakshin Bharat Area headquartered in Chennai.

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