The Indian Army is the land-based service of the Indian Armed Forces and the largest of the three services by personnel. To administer, train and deploy such a large force, the Army is divided into a set of geographically and functionally organised commands, each led by a senior general officer of the rank of lieutenant general holding the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. These commands form the top tier of a hierarchy that reaches down through corps, divisions and brigades to the battalions and regiments in which most soldiers serve.

At the apex sits the Chief of the Army Staff, who exercises operational and administrative control through Army Headquarters in New Delhi. The staff branches, most prominently the offices of the Vice Chief and the principal staff officers responsible for operations, intelligence, personnel and logistics, translate national policy and higher-defence direction into orders for the field formations. This central staff also manages the raising, equipping and training of the force as a whole.

The seven commands

The Army is structured around seven commands. Six of these are operational or field commands, and one is dedicated to training. The operational commands are the Northern, Western, South Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Commands. The seventh is the Army Training Command, which oversees doctrine, instruction and the numerous training establishments that prepare officers and soldiers.

  • Northern Command is responsible for the sensitive frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
  • Western and South Western Commands guard the plains and desert sectors along the western border.
  • Eastern Command covers the north-eastern states and the frontier with China in that region.
  • Southern and Central Commands hold responsibility for peninsular India and central sectors, alongside key logistics and training functions.
  • Army Training Command shapes doctrine and runs the schools of instruction that standardise how the Army fights.

Each command headquarters directs a number of subordinate formations, and the size and composition of these formations vary according to the terrain and threat each command faces. A command oriented towards high-altitude frontiers, for example, will be weighted towards mountain formations, while one covering the plains and deserts will emphasise armoured and mechanised troops.

Formations within a command

Below the command level, the Army follows a familiar hierarchy of formations. A command is made up of corps, each identified by a Roman numeral and commanded by a lieutenant general. A corps in turn contains divisions, led by major generals, and divisions are built from brigades under brigadiers. Brigades are composed of battalions and regiments, which are the units soldiers most closely identify with.

The Army fields several types of divisions, including infantry, mountain, armoured and artillery formations, so that the force can operate across the wide range of terrain found along India's borders, from high-altitude glaciers to riverine plains and deserts. Specialised strike corps are held for offensive operations, while holding formations are oriented towards the defence of territory. The regimental system is a defining feature of the Army's organisation: infantry regiments, many with long histories predating independence, provide a strong sense of identity, tradition and cohesion, while supporting arms and services such as the armoured corps, the regiment of artillery, the corps of engineers and the various logistics and technical corps complete the combined-arms structure.

Modernisation and reorganisation of the Army's structure is an ongoing subject of study. Proposals such as reorganising some formations into more agile integrated battle groups have been discussed and trialled, and the Army's structure will also be shaped by the wider effort towards integrated theatre commands, a reform being implemented to bring the three services under joint operational structures. The higher direction of the Army is coordinated with the other services through the office of the Chief of Defence Staff, created in 2019 to promote jointness. The Army also contributes forces and personnel to tri-service bodies such as the Strategic Forces Command, and it maintains its own elite Para Special Forces for special operations. Together, the commands, formations and specialised units give the Army the reach and flexibility required to secure India's extensive land frontiers.