India declares 2025 as defence reforms year; lists simpler procurement, theaterisation as priorities
New Delhi (PTI): India on Wednesday declared 2025 as the year of defence reforms and that the aim will be to facilitate rolling out integrated theatre commands to bolster synergy among the three services and transform the military into a technologically-advanced combat-ready force.
The broader aim of the reforms planned by the defence ministry would be to make the defence acquisition procedures simpler and time-sensitive, ensure deeper collaboration among key stakeholders, break silos, eliminate inefficiencies and optimise utilisation of resources.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the reforms would lay the foundation for "unprecedented" advancements in defence preparedness and ensure India's security and sovereignty amid challenges of the 21st century.
The defence ministry's aim on theatre commands assumes significance as it virtually indicated the plan to unveil the reform measure in 2025.
Under the theaterisation model, the government seeks to integrate the capabilities of the Army, Air Force and Navy and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.
As per the theaterisation plan, each of the theatre commands will have units of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and all of them will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory.
At present, the Army, Navy and the Air Force have separate commands.
The decision on observing 2025 as year of reforms and the broad objectives under it were finalised at a high-level meeting chaired by Singh.
The ministry said the focus in 2025 will also be on new domains such as cyber and space, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, hypersonic and robotics.
"'Year of reforms' will be a momentous step in modernisation journey of the armed forces," Singh said.
In order to give impetus to the ongoing and future reforms, it was unanimously decided to observe 2025 as the 'year of reforms', the ministry said.
The reforms would aim at transforming the armed forces into a technologically-advanced combat-ready force capable of multi-domain integrated operations, it said in a statement.
The Singh-led meeting held that the reforms should aim to further bolster jointness and integration initiatives and facilitate establishment of the integrated theatre commands, according to the ministry.
It was agreed that associated tactics, techniques and procedures required to win future wars should also be developed.
The meeting also called for developing a shared understanding of operational requirements and joint operational capabilities through inter-service cooperation and training.
It also emphasised on the need to make acquisition procedures simpler and time-sensitive to facilitate swifter and robust capability development.
The aim of the defence reforms also include rolling out steps to facilitate technology transfer and knowledge sharing between the defence sector and civil industries and promoting public-private partnerships by improving ease of doing business.
The meeting also underlined the need for focusing on collaboration across various stakeholders in the defence ecosystem and breaking silos.
It said the ministry should work towards positioning India as a credible exporter of defence products, fostering R&D and partnerships between Indian industries and foreign original equipment manufacturers.
It also pitched for instilling a sense of pride in Indian culture and ideas, fostering confidence in achieving global standards through indigenous capabilities, while imbibing best practices from modern militaries that suit the nation's conditions.
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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
