Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kevadia in Gujarat to address the top military commanders there on Saturday. PM Narendra Modi will address the Combined Commanders’ Conference, a three-day brainstorming meet of top military officials that began on Thursday. The meeting is the first combined commanders’ conference to be held in the second tenure of the Narendra Modi-led government. After landing at Ahmedabad airport, PM Modi left for Kevadia, which is around 200 km from the state capital. At Ahmedabad airport, the prime minister was received by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. “He is scheduled to leave on the same day,” a senior official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

At the meeting with the military commanders of the three defense forces, PM Modi is expected to talk about future challenges. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Kevadia on Friday to participate in the conference. The conference is being organized with the Indian Army as the host service. During the event, presentations are expected to be given to the Prime Minister regarding the progress made in the field of the creation of theatre commands. The Combined Commanders’ Conference is being attended by the commander-in-chief rank officers of the three services which include 20 officers from different commands and formations from across the country. The conference would see briefings by top officials on the ongoing projects of their respective departments along with future projects they would be undertaking.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, who also holds the post of Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, is expected to give a briefing on several topics including developments regarding the formation of new tri-services commands and the progress made in the existing structures.

This is also the first time that jawans will be part of this year’s conference and participate in discussions on military affairs in presence of PM Narendra Modi. Till now, only the top brass of the three services – Army, Navy, and Air Force was allowed to participate in this conference.