India enjoying rare peace dividend but must be alert: Rajnath Singh

India is enjoying a rare peace dividend in an increasingly volatile world, but the armed forces need to be alert and prepared to deal with the unexpected, defence minister Rajnath Singh told a gathering of top military commanders on Thursday. Speaking at the inaugural Joint Commanders Conference in Lucknow, the minister called for capability development in space and electronic warfare and urged the military leadership to focus on increasing the use of artificial intelligence.

The minister called for "fail-proof deterrence" and asked the commanders to predict future challenges, referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts and the current situation in Bangladesh.

"Due to increasing number of challenges, we need to remain alert."