Kolkata: Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday took stock of the raising of the new 17 Corps, Army`s first Mountain Strike Corps to be deployed along the China border in the Northeast.
During his day-long visit to the Eastern Command headquarters here, the Chief of the Army Staff was briefed by Army Commander Lt General MMS Rai.
The raising of the 17 Corps, the latest and the 14th such formation of the Army, was commenced on January 1, 2014.
Expected to cost Rs 65,000 crore, the proposed strike corps is headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal.
With 50,000 troops, this will be the first corps with strike elements to be deployed close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Army chief was also briefed on operational preparedness, security situation and the progress of infrastructure development in the east.
Singh reiterated that the eastern theatre will be given due importance including requisite thrust on development of infrastructure to support the troops deployed in challenging and hostile terrain of the region.
Singh was also briefed on the internal security situation in the north-eastern states.
The Army Chief also addressed the officers in the station emphasising on the need to uphold the core values of the Army and urged them to strengthen the work culture hinging on professional ethos.
He also emphasised on the importance of taking care of the requirements and needs of the ex-servicemen and `Veer Naris`.
