To counter any opportunistic Chinese intrusion into Indian territories, the Indian Army is set to deploy 50,000 specially trained troops along the China border at the cost of rupees 65,000 crore (approx. $10433 million).
The corps will be the first of its kind, fully equipped with striking elements, to be deployed on Line of Actual Control. The project of raising this special mountain strike corps was given a final nod by the Indian Defense Ministry recently, though the proposal was approved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in July.
Incidentally, the defense ministry’s decision came near the eve marking the 51st anniversary of Indo-China war that ended on November 19, 1962.
According to a report by Press Trust of India (PTI), the 17th corps is the latest and 14th such formation of the Indian army. The defense ministry has given the government sanction letter (GSL) to the army with complete details of the new formation to be raised and the funds sanctioned for the purpose.
As per media reports, the new corps’ headquarters will be raised at Panagarh in West Bengal along with two divisions in Bihar and Assam, and other units from Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.
The Indian Air Force has also planned to deploy C-130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft and midair refueling tankers at Panagarh. The raising of the special corps will be accomplished in next seven to eight years as the task needs to recruit soldiers, develop infrastructure, and procure war weapons.
On November 22, the Combined Commanders’ Conference to be addressed by the Prime Minister is scheduled to review this project.
