Diplomacyindia.com

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) The Indian Air Force (IAF) relies heavily on global supply chains for delivery of critical components, equipment and services to maintain its combat potential at optimum level, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhuri said on Tuesday.

“In recent times, the world has witnessed multiple and varied disruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict, trade barriers, tariff wars, environmental compliance policies etc. Such events have highlighted the vulnerability of supply chains to disruptions,” the IAF Chief said at the national logistics management seminar, LOGISEM-23, on the theme ‘Leverage Emerging Global Supply Chain to Enhance Logistics Capabilities While Absorbing Disruptions’.

The event organised by the IAF was held at the Air Force Auditorium in the national capital, where Air Chief Marshal Chaudhuri inaugurated the seminar and delivered the key-note address.

In his address, the IAF Chief said, “Global supply chains have become increasingly complex and interconnected, driven by the manuscripts of international trade and advances in technology. The defence sector is not an exception to this trend. The IAF relies heavily on global supply chains for delivery of critical components, equipment and services to maintain its combat potential at optimum level. In recent times, the world has witnessed multiple and varied disruptions.

“To mitigate such disruptions, leveraging the emerging trends such as digitisation, automation and data analytics should be exploited to enhance IAF’s logistics capabilities. I am confident that the deliberations, discussions and ideas generated in the seminar would help better understand the dynamics of disruptive environment.”

At the seminar held over three sessions, prominent speakers deliberated and discussed issues related to the theme. The discussions ranged from future prospects of domestic aviation industry, modern trends in supply chain management and warehousing, and public procurement initiatives through GeM.

According to the Indian Air Force, the seminar provided an ideal platform for exchange of ideas between civil and military logisticians and is expected to assist IAF to tailor its supply-chain needs based on modern technologies and global trends.