The inaugural session of the Chanakya Defence Dialogue-2025, attended by President Droupadi Murmu and Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, emphasized the transformative journey of the Indian Armed Forces in response to a rapidly evolving global order. Highlighting recent successes like Operation Sindoor, President Murmu underscored the military’s role in national security and development, promoting the ethos of strategic autonomy alongside global responsibility. Gen Dwivedi outlined a three-phase transformation plan aimed at creating a future-ready force, referencing Prime Minister Modi’s 5S approach (respect, dialogue, cooperation, prosperity, and security) as a guiding framework. He identified key springboards for this transformation, including self-reliance through indigenisation, accelerated innovation in advanced technologies, and military-civil fusion. This dialogue is positioned as a crucial platform for generating actionable insights to enhance India’s military capabilities, ensuring preparedness against rising global conflicts, and reinforcing the vision of a Sashakt (empowered), Surakshit (secure), and Viksit (developed) Bharat by 2047.