Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today virtually inaugurated the Department of Military Medicine at Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow, marking the establishment of India’s first dedicated academic and operational centre exclusively focused on military medicine.
Established under the aegis of the Directorate General of Medical Services (Army), the department is designed to strengthen the operational medical preparedness of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) by enhancing combat medical readiness, advancing research, developing indigenous doctrines and creating specialised expertise for future battlefields and humanitarian emergencies.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Rajnath Singh underscored that a nation’s sovereignty and progress ultimately rest on the strength and morale of its armed forces. He said the new department would bolster national security by ensuring advanced medical support for troops and reinforcing their confidence that they will receive the highest standards of care during operations.
The department will focus on specialised areas including military trauma and damage control, combat psychiatry and resilience, environmental and operational medicine, military medical logistics, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNe) medical response, emergency medicine, critical care, disaster medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and medical research, audit and data analytics. It will also promote innovation in battlefield medicine through simulation-based training, telemedicine, prolonged field care and AI-enabled medical decision support systems.
The project will be implemented in phases. The initial stage will establish academic programmes, followed by the development of Centres of Excellence in HADR and CBRNe medicine, with the long-term objective of evolving into a globally recognised institution for military medicine.
Highlighting the growing relevance of military medicine in modern warfare, the Defence Minister said India’s soldiers operate in some of the world’s most demanding terrains and climatic conditions, requiring medical protocols specifically tailored to operational environments. He added that the department would serve as a major research and development hub to prepare the country for emerging threats, including those posed by weapons of mass destruction and rapidly evolving technologies.
Rajnath Singh also noted that India’s role as one of the largest contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions and its expanding humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations make specialised military medical capabilities increasingly important. The department, he said, would significantly enhance expertise in disaster response, field hospital deployment, mass casualty management and epidemic control.
Envisioned as the principal academic, research and doctrinal hub of the AFMS, the department will offer structured education and postgraduate training in military medicine, combat surgery, trauma care and other operational medical disciplines. It is also expected to create new career opportunities for young doctors of the Army Medical Corps through super-specialisation in military medicine while promoting indigenous research aligned with India’s defence requirements.
Calling preventive healthcare the “first line of defence,” Rajnath Singh stressed the need for technology-driven health monitoring to improve combat readiness. He advocated the use of artificial intelligence, wearable health devices, predictive analytics and advanced diagnostics for real-time monitoring of soldiers’ health, early disease detection and risk mitigation, describing preventive healthcare as an essential component of national security.
The Defence Minister expressed confidence that the Department of Military Medicine would emerge as a world-class Battlefield Medicine Research Centre and play a pivotal role in modernising India’s military healthcare ecosystem.
The inauguration was attended by Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, and other senior military and defence officials.
The establishment of the Department of Military Medicine aligns with the Government’s vision of strengthening indigenous capabilities, enhancing operational preparedness of the Armed Forces and supporting the proposed Global Military Medicine Centre under the Raksha Strategy Vision 2026–30, marking another milestone in the transformation of the AFMS into a modern, technology-driven and operationally focused military healthcare system.
