Kalam & Kavach 2.0 Conclave Charts Roadmap for Defence Reforms, Innovation and Self-Reliance in 2025

Kalam & Kavach 2.0, hosted by Pentagon Press in collaboration with CENJOWS, brought together India’s top defence minds-from military leadership and think tanks to private industry-to shape the next wave of military reform. Themed “2025: The Year of Reforms,” the conclave, held at the Manekshaw Centre, focused on speed, synergy, and self-reliance in national defence.

Kalam & Kavach Panel discussion: Indian industry and defence start-ups hailed as co-creators of capability and self-reliance

Key Highlights

• Strategic Insight: Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal, delivering the keynote on behalf of the CDS, cited a “renaissance in strategic thought,” revealing 8-9 new doctrines in progress.

• Airpower & Future Warfare: In a fireside chat with Shivam Arya, curator Kalam & Kavach, former IAF chief ACM V.R. Chaudhari emphasized jointness, AI-driven warfare, and theatre commands as future priorities.

• Security Outlook: Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd) and author Sandeep Unnithan discussed drones, grey zone threats, and the need for rapid, tech-led reform.

• Technology as a Force Multiplier: Experts stressed AI, quantum, cyber, and space as the defining arenas of modern warfare.

• Industry’s Role: From “vendor to vanguard,” Indian industry and defence startups were hailed as co-creators of capability and self-reliance.

Books Released
Cyber Diplomacy, Artificial Intelligence in Military Applications, and India’s Arsenal captured the spirit of innovation driving the sector.

Closing Note
Maj Gen (Dr) Ashok Kumar called for action-oriented follow-up, while curator Shivam Arya urged, “The conversations we had today must now become contributions.”

Kalam & Kavach 2.0 reaffirmed that defence transformation begins with dialogue-and must end in decisive, indigenised action.