Mech Tech Seminar 2.0, the Indian Army Western Command's seminar on upgrading the combat platforms of its mechanised forces, will be held at Chandimandir Military Station on December 14 and 15 under the theme CHAKRA, Transforming Existing Platforms for Future Combat. Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Western Command, inaugurated the curtain raiser for the event at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on Monday.

Western Command organised the curtain raiser with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), which is also its partner for the main seminar.

The aim is to raise the combat effectiveness of the mechanised forces by turning platforms already in service into technologically advanced, capable and future-ready combat systems, according to the Ministry of Defence. The seminar, officially the Mechanisation Technology Seminar 2.0 (MTS 2.0), is an initiative of Western Command.

Mech Tech Seminar 2.0 theme covers six focus areas

The six areas named for the seminar are Combat Capability Enhancement, Harnessing Technology, Adaptability, Kinetics, Refurbishment and Aatmanirbharta. Their first letters spell CHAKRA.

Refurbishment and capability enhancement sit side by side on that list. Together they set the direction of Mech Tech Seminar 2.0: more out of existing equipment, with Indian industry doing the work.

Problem Definition Statements at the centre

The seminar will put its weight on turning operational capability gaps and requirements into clearly defined Problem Definition Statements (PDS). Each statement sets out a gap or requirement in plain terms. The seminar then seeks practical technological solutions that can actually be implemented, the ministry said.

Curtain raiser brings Army, industry and academia together in New Delhi

Monday's curtain raiser laid out the broad vision and the key focus areas for December. It stressed technology-driven modernisation, civil-military collaboration and Aatmanirbharta in building up indigenous defence capability.

Military users, industry representatives, academics and other stakeholders used the session to discuss the modernisation of existing platforms, indigenous technological innovation and emerging operational requirements. The Manekshaw Centre is also hosting the Indian Navy's Swavlamban 2026 seminar on October 26 and 27.

Main seminar at Chandimandir on December 14 and 15

The two-day seminar will bring together stakeholders from the Indian Army, the defence industry and academia to discuss technological advances and capability enhancement for the mechanised forces. According to the ministry, it is meant to strengthen collaboration among the armed forces, industry and academia, and to improve the operational effectiveness, resilience and combat readiness of mechanised forces on a changing battlefield.

Chandimandir is the headquarters of Western Command.

The Command has run several technology initiatives this year. In August, the Western Command innovations competition hosted by Vajra Corps displayed 54 indigenous entries covering unmanned aircraft, counter-drone systems, AI-enabled analytics and autonomous systems. Drones were among the equipment honoured when Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh led the Dussehra Shastra Pujan with troops in the Jammu Sector last week.

First Mech Tech seminar held at Chandimandir in March 2025

The first edition was held at Chandimandir Military Station on March 3 and 4, 2025, also with SIDM as partner. Its theme was the Future Landscape of Mechanised Warfare and Infusion of Niche Technology.

General NS Raja Subramani, now the Chief of Defence Staff, inaugurated it as a Lieutenant General while serving as Vice Chief of the Army Staff. A compendium titled Niche Technology in Mechanised Platforms Worldwide was released at that edition, alongside an industry exhibition on making mechanised platforms future ready.