New Delhi : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi on August 6, 2026, focusing on the role and functioning of the Territorial Army. During the meeting, senior officials presented a comprehensive briefing on the force’s mandate, achievements and operational contributions, while committee members offered valuable suggestions to further strengthen its effectiveness. Addressing the gathering, Rajnath Singh described the Territorial Army as a “Living Embodiment of the Citizen-Soldier concept” and highlighted its significant contribution to the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He emphasized that apart from supporting defence forces by creating surge capacity through a trained reserve, the Territorial Army plays a vital role in environmental conservation, social service and disaster response. With approximately 44,400 personnel across 59 units, the force has been at the forefront of relief and rescue operations during natural calamities such as the Kerala floods, Odisha cyclone and recent Assam floods. The Defence Minister also lauded the Ecological Task Forces for planting nearly 10 crore saplings with a survival rate of 80–85 percent, contributing significantly to climate change mitigation and advancing initiatives like ‘Mission LiFE’ and ‘Panchamrit’. He further appreciated the efforts of Territorial Army personnel in Jammu & Kashmir for promoting the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defence Finance) Vishvajit Sahay and other senior officials.
