Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated the Department of Military Medicine at Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow, on July 29, marking the establishment of India's first dedicated academic and operational department exclusively focused on military medicine.

Established under the aegis of the Directorate General of Medical Services (Army), the department aims to strengthen the operational medical preparedness of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) by enhancing combat medical readiness, advancing research, developing indigenous doctrines and building specialised expertise for future battlefields and humanitarian emergencies.

Addressing the inauguration, Rajnath Singh emphasised that national security rests on the strength and morale of the armed forces and said the new department would reinforce soldiers' confidence by ensuring advanced medical support during operational deployments.

"While economic and social development are essential aspects of nation-building, the fundamental basis of any nation's sovereignty and progress lies in the strength and the morale of its military," he said.

The department will focus on specialised areas including military trauma and damage control, combat psychiatry and resilience, environmental and operational medicine, military medical logistics, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNe) medical response, emergency medicine and critical care, disaster medicine, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), as well as research, audit and data analytics. 

It will also promote innovation in technology-enabled battlefield medicine, simulation-based training, telemedicine, prolonged field care and medical decision support.

The facility will be developed in phases, beginning with academic programmes before expanding into Centres of Excellence for HADR and CBRNe medicine, with the long-term objective of becoming an internationally recognised centre for military medicine.

The new department has been conceived as the principal academic, research and doctrinal centre for the AFMS. It will offer structured education and postgraduate training in military and operational medicine, including combat medicine, combat surgery and trauma care, while promoting indigenous research aligned with India's operational requirements.

Emphasising preventive healthcare as an essential component of military readiness, he called for greater use of disease surveillance, vaccination, nutrition, occupational health and regular health screenings, supported by technologies such as artificial intelligence, wearable devices, predictive analytics and advanced diagnostics.

"Preventive healthcare is directly linked to combat readiness and national security. We can leverage technologies such as AI, wearable devices, predictive analytics, and advanced diagnostics to enhance real-time monitoring of soldiers' health and the early identification of potential health risks," he said.