India's Higher Defence Organisation (HDO) reforms, particularly since 2019 with the establishment of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), represent a significant structural change aimed at fostering jointness, integrated theatre commands, and military modernisation.

However, these reforms have faced criticism for failing to deliver strategic coherence, as the armed forces still largely operate in silos with limited cross-domain interaction and ambiguity persists in the role and charter of DMA and CDS.

The Department of Defence (DoD) retains full responsibility for policies and military operations, which overlaps and obscures the authority of the DMA, leading to structural paralysis despite the revolutionary intent behind these reforms.

Key tactical issues highlighted in assessments of the Indian Armed Forces include an outdated doctrine focused on large-scale conventional offensives, lack of jointness and inter-service coordination, recurring intelligence failures, equipment shortfalls, and training gaps.

These factors impede operational agility and the integration necessary for modern multi-domain operations (MDO). Institutional inertia, bureaucratic overlaps between DMA and DoD, and political micro-management further hamper the emergence of a unified command which is critical for future warfare effectiveness.

Efforts to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose these issues underscore the need for a comprehensive review of doctrinal, organisational, and technological frameworks in the armed forces. 

The DMA, led by the CDS, was created to promote jointness in procurement, staffing, and command restructuring, including the pursuit of integrated theatre commands, but the expected outcomes remain unrealised due to ambiguities and execution challenges.

The ultimate question pertains to whether India’s higher defence reforms represent tactical brilliance isolated in pockets or whether they achieve strategic coherence vital for future war-fighting capability. Recommendations commonly centre on clarifying responsibilities between DMA and DoD, fully empowering the CDS, establishing integrated theatre commands promptly, and investing in AI-driven warfare, intelligence, and joint operational doctrines.

Reforms in India’s Higher Defence Organisation have progressed incrementally, yet persistent silos undermine true integration. The creation of the Department of Military Affairs and Chief of Defence Staff in 2019 marked a pivotal shift, but ambiguities in mandates between the Department of Defence and DMA have fostered structural paralysis.

Operation Sindoor in May 2025 exemplified tri-service synergy, with precision strikes on Pakistani targets demonstrating networked air defence systems like IACCS and Akash, forcing a swift ceasefire through disrupted command-and-control nodes.​

Artificial intelligence analyses highlight chronic issues such as fragmented war-fighting, where services operate in silos, lacking joint targeting and ISR fusion.

Doctrines remain reactive, emphasising attrition over precision, while centralised decision-making stifles junior leaders' initiative in fluid battlespaces. Procurement bottlenecks and civil-military divides exacerbate equipment shortages, with DPSUs facing accountability lapses that delay indigenisation.​

Geography dictates India’s continental primacy, as the stopping power of water shields its flanks via the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Bay of Bengal. Primary threats emanate from Pakistan and China along land borders, necessitating robust Army and Air Force capabilities over disproportionate naval expansion. China’s shift from continental to maritime ambitions underscores the need for India to fortify Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep outposts without neglecting terrestrial defences.​

Operation Sindoor validated a whole-of-nation approach, integrating Comprehensive National Power through centralised planning and decentralised execution. Key lessons include prioritising information via systems like Akashteer, Trigun, and IACCS for decision dominance, alongside investments in AI, drones, and counter-UAS technologies. Short, intense conflicts demand agile forces over mass mobilisation, with air power proving decisive in retaining edges against adversaries.​​

Recent reforms declare 2025 the Year of Reforms, empowering the CDS to issue joint orders across services, streamlining procedures and fostering transparency. Plans for Integrated Theatre Commands—Northern (Lucknow, China-focused), Western (Jaipur, Pakistan-focused), and Maritime—aim to consolidate 17 single-service commands into unified structures.

The CDS-led DMA now drives jointness in procurement, training, and logistics, though inter-service rivalries persist without legislative backing akin to the US Goldwater-Nichols Act.​

A proposed Joint Forces Headquarters under the Chiefs of Staff Committee would centralise apex planning, incorporating representatives from ministries, ISRO, NCIIPC, and NDMA for multi-domain operations. This top-down reconfiguration, rather than full restructuring, enables Joint Task Forces as informatised force multipliers, blending all services for hybrid threats. Training commands under Integrated Defence Staff would optimise joint exercises, addressing deficits in realistic multi-domain simulations.​

Weak after-action reviews hinder learning, with failures often classified to evade scrutiny, contrasting Western militaries' open introspection. Cultural shifts must prioritise performance over seniority, embedding a joint ethos to counter bureaucratic inertia and service turf wars. Overemphasis on manpower neglects capability, yet mass retains value against peer adversaries like China, demanding balanced modernisation.​

India’s forces exhibit tactical bravery but require strategic coherence through an indigenous war-fighting concept. Joint planning at apex levels, fused with technology and adaptive command, will convert potential into decisive outcomes amid evolving threats. Reforms must evolve beyond rhetoric, ensuring agility in grey-zone scenarios while safeguarding sovereignty.

Force reconfiguration via top-down jointness trumps hasty Theatre Commands, emphasising agile, informatised structures without manpower cuts that risk mass's role against peers. Op Sindoor proves tactical brilliance yields strategic wins with clear political aims and decentralised execution; prioritising AI, CUAS, and info-warfare ensures edge retention. This Indian Concept of war fighting demands mindset shift for OODA superiority in fluid battlespaces.​

This understanding is drawn from recent scholarly reviews and analyses on India’s Higher Defence Organisation reforms and challenges since their inception in 2019, reflecting deep concerns regarding structural inefficiencies and the urgency of integrated operational transformation.

Report based on analysis and review by Group Captain VP Naik VM, Senior Fellow, Centre for Aerospace Power and Strategic Studies