To bolster the security structure and safeguard national interests in today’s uncertain times, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has called for enhancing the synergy between civil and military personnel, terming the exceptional back-end support provided by different departments of Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the Armed Forces as key to Operation Sindoor’s success.
He was addressing the 84th Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services Day event at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi on August 01, 2025. Raksha Mantri asserted that a war is fought not just by the military, but the entire country, and in today's rapidly-changing security scenario, there is a need to move ahead with dynamism and innovative spirit while making constant improvements according to the evolving needs.
“We cannot leave scope for even the slightest negligence or mistake,” he added. Emphasising that a robust administrative system is integral for a strong military power, Shri Rajnath Singh commended the AFHQ Civilian Services for playing an important role in strengthening the country’s security system during war as well as peace time.
“AFHQ Services acts as an institutional memory for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It provides consistency, domain expertise and uniformity in the administration, while playing a key role in policy continuity and establishing civil-military synergy.
It is a strong pillar of a modern and integrated national defence system,” he added. Raksha Mantri laid stress on capacity development, urging the AFHQ officials to assess and embrace the best practices being adopted by their counterparts in other Ministries and countries in the fields of training and capability enhancement.
“Emerging technologies, new challenges and changing global scenario indicate that training should not be just a formal process, but a continuous cycle of development. Skill upgradation, ethical orientation and behavioural excellence need to be added as integral parts of training,” he said.
Shri Rajnath Singh added that training components must not be limited to technical proficiency, but also include value orientation, which can connect actions with national interests. This would make AFHQ a value-based institution along with an administrative structure, he said.
As part of the event, Raksha Mantri launched a redeveloped website of Office of Joint Secretary & Chief Administrative Officer (www.caomod.gov.in), which will provide all relevant information about the office to the employees and general public.
The employees would be able to get the latest orders and updates such as promotion, transfer, status of medical allowance, salary slips and Form-16 etc. Through the website, the employees can also apply for various training courses and workshops of Defence Headquarters Training Institute.
Shri Rajnath Singh also released a book ‘Viksit Bharat@2047: Karmikon Ke Vichar’ and a magazine ‘Samvad’. The ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ book comprises 40 articles written by employees of various ranks posted in Service Headquarters and Inter Service Organisations.
The articles are on various topics related to Viksit Bharat such as digitisation, New Education Policy 2020, Artificial Intelligence, Aatmanirbharta in defence, Green Energy, and Poverty Alleviation. The 32nd issue of the ‘Samvad’ magazine contains travelogues, essays, articles, poems etc by the employees.
Raksha Mantri also presented awards to AFHQ personnel for their achievements in various fields such as sports, and some of the children of the employees who excelled in academics. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Ex-servicemen Welfare) Dr Niten Chandra, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat and Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Dr Mayank Sharma and other senior officials of MoD were present on the occasion.
AFHQ Day is celebrated on 1st August in recognition of the role of civilian personnel functioning shoulder-to-shoulder with the Service personnel, primarily in the three Integrated Service Headquarters, HQ IDS and 24 Inter-Service Organisations of MoD.
The purpose of observing AFHQ Day is to foster esprit de corps of the civilian employees of AFHQ cadres who play the role of a bridge between Service Headquarters and MoD.