• Green Competence: A New Era of Workforce Development

By Lt. General (Dr.)VK Saxena (Retd.)

New Delhi. 14 January 2025. As we move forward to celebrate the Army Day, here is a brief feel-good piece that talks about the concept of green training and how it is steadily taking centre-stage at the national level. In fact it, it won’t be wrong to say that we are at the cusp of ushering a Green Training Revolution in the Forces as the concept of green training  gains both in visibility and acceptance.

Deciphering Green Training

In simplest terms, training that does not pollute the environment is green training; training that is climate-friendly is green training; and training that does not add to global warming is green training.

How this translates in real-world terms?

Basically, the field mode training or the conventional training of troops in units and formations has a typical signature. This signature is made up of  multitude of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles plying in the exercise area; hordes of sensors, EW and other combat equipment getting switched on with fuel-guzzling generators for hours on a daily basis; hundreds of vehicles carrying troops or  towing combat guns and howitzers or the self-propelled missile carriers etc undertaking training. Also, convoys moving thousands of km from far flung units to Field Firing Ranges for Live Firing exercises, and above all, the signature of firing of thousands  and thousands of rounds  of live ammunition.

All the above activity throws into the atmosphere thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and many other gases that are cumulatively called the Green House Gases (GHGs). These gases trap the earth’s heat from escaping to the environment and cause global warming.

The idea of how huge this quantum is can be gauged from the fact that firing one single round of Insaas 5.56mm throws out 226 gm of GHGs! What about firing thousands and millions of these rounds  on an everyday basis and what about the firing of much bigger ammunition like tanks, BMPs, artillery guns and howitzers, air defence guns and more?

Simulation-based training has a potential to dwarf the need for field-mode conventional training on a huge scale. It must however be stated upfront that nothing can completely replace field-mode conventional training, the point here is that even if a small percentage of conventional training  is switched to simulators, the effect on climate change is colossal. It is for this primary reason that Simulator – based Training is called Green Training.

On the aspect of Green Training, Zen Technologies Limited, a Hyderabad based Company and a market leader in providing combat training and counter drone solutions both in India and globally is in the forefront of spreading green training awareness across spectrum.

Spreading awareness on Green Training.

Early in Apr 2023, Zen commissioned a Study with TERI, the national level policy research body specialising in the field of energy, environment and sustainable development. The aim was to study the environmental sustainability impact of various Zen simulators. The results of the study were astounding. Here is a brief grab of its key findings:-

  • A light 4 wheeler Vehicle Simulator will save 103 Tons of CO2 over 15 year period yielding a saving of INR 56 Lakhs.
  • A Driving Training Simulator at a Regimental level will save 1919 Tons of CO2 over a 30 year period amounting to INR 136 Cr or 4.54 Cr per annum.
  • Even if 50% of the live small arms firing is shifted to Advanced Weapon Simulator, the saving over 10 years will be 55 Tons of CO2 costing INR 2.4 Cr.
  • A Field Crew Gunnery Training Simulator  at a Regimental level will save 3676 Tons of CO2 over a 30 year period amounting to INR 381 Cr or 12.7 Cr per annum.

Emboldened by the findings of this Study, Zen Technlogies Limited has commissioned TERI to undertake the Phase 2 of the Study. This phase has a larger scope and includes a larger product range of the Company.

Green Training getting  national level visibility

The efforts spreading Green Training awareness got a big boost when the theme was picked up by NITI Aayog; the apex public policy think tank of Govt of India tasked with catalysing economic development and fostering co-operative federalism. NITI Aayog in acknowledgement of the importance of green initiatives towards environmental sustainability conducted a Consultative Workshop on 03 Dec 2024.

The Workshop was based on the theme which stated that the integration of sustainability into defence operations is not just an environmental imperative, but also, a strategic necessity as India faces many climate-related challenges. Environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and national security are essential components for future practices in the Indian Armed Forces.

Under this overall theme, Green Training formed an important agenda and an entire session was dedicated to it. Speaking on the session theme – ‘Green Training for the Indian Armed Forces’, Mr. Ashok Atluri, CMD Zen Technologies Limited brought out how the colossal pollution footprint of field-mode training can be dwarfed by adapting to simulators.

By citing specific examples, CMD highlighted how simulation-based training can increase trainee skills by many notches in a short time frame. CMD summed up his strong arguments by calling for an expeditious implementation of Govt Policy on Framework of Simulator for Armed Forces. Towards this, he suggested that the simulator cases at various stages of procurement need to be concluded at the earliest.

Relevance of Green training in a transparent battlefield.

Green Training awareness continues to gain traction. On 13 Dec, the Society for Aerospace Maritime and Defence Studies (SAMDeS) conducted a workshop on Transparent Warfare. A presentation during this workshop established how preparing for a transparent battlefield of tomorrow will demand huge quantum of training on a multitude of equipment across the cylindrical spectrum and why maximum percentage of this training needs to be green.

Transforming thoughts  into Actions

The next steps of converting thoughts into action are already on . In this context an MOU is being signed between TERI and Zen Technologies Limited  for establishment of a National Centre of Excellence on Green Training and Environmental Sustainability (CoE GT & ES).

This Centre will aim to provide comprehensive training and education on green technologies and sustainable practices to military personnel. It will focus on incorporating advanced simulation technologies for military training, thereby enhancing the realism and effectiveness of the training experience. Green training is indeed the new imperative.

(Lt. Gen.(Dr.)VK Saxena (Retd.) is a Delhi-based defence analyst former Director General Army Air Defence. He is a Distinguished Fellow at VIF and a Visiting Fellow at CLAWS. The views in the article are solely the author’s. He can be contacted at editor.adu@gmail.com).