EVENTS

China has set as a goal for the People’s Liberation Army to become a world class military power by mid-21st century. Towards this, China changed its military strategic guideline (军事战 略方针) to ‘winning informatized local wars’ (打赢信 息化局部战争) in 2014 and further revised it to ‘Military Strategic Guidelines for the New Era’(新时代军事战略方针). The new military strategic guidelines are likely to emphasise on ’intelligentization’ (智能化) in future. What is ‘intelligentization’? How does it differ from Artificial Intelligence? How is the PLA likely to employ ‘intelligentization’? Where does it stand as on date? What are the envisaged future trends? This seminar looks at the doctrinal, technological and organisational changes in the PLA and attempts to answer the above questions.

About the Speaker

KK Venkatraman is currently a Research Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi. He was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1997 and has served extensively in the Northern and Eastern theatres. He holds a Masters in Defence & Strategic Studies from University of Madras and an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from Punjabi University, Patiala. His MPhil dissertation was titled, ‘International Dynamics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: An Analytical Study’. His interest areas are PLA, Security Studies and Emerging Technologies.. He can be reached at kk.venkatraman@gmail.com.

About the Discussant

Megha Pardhi is a Research Analyst (China Studies) at The Takshashila Institution. Her research focuses on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the role of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Computing in the military. She writes a weekly newsletter, China Tech Dispatch, following discourse on emerging technologies in PLA and other science and technology-related developments in China. She has a Master’s degree in Politics and International Relations from JNU, Delhi, and a BE in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune. Her writing has been previously published by South China Morning Post (SCMP), The Diplomat, Firstpost, Deccan Herald, Hindustan Times, ORF, and ICS, among others.

About the Chair

Lt. Gen. SL Narasimhan, PVSM, AVSM*, VSM is an Infantry Officer commissioned in 1977. He has done graduation in Mathematics, Post-Graduation in Defence Studies and PhD in India China Relations. He has been awarded four times for his outstanding contribution to the Indian Army by the President of India. He served as the Defence Attaché in the Embassy of India in China for three years. He is qualified in Chinese language and has been a keen observer of China for the past 18 years. His expertise spans international relations and internal issues, economy and defence related subjects of China. He has taken part in many Track 2 dialogues both in India and abroad. Lt. Gen. SL Narasimhan has authored many articles in various journals and magazines. He is, presently, Member of the National Security Advisory Board, India and Director General, Centre for Contemporary China Studies. He is also a Distinguished Fellow with Centre for Air Power Studies, India.

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