Jammu, Oct 13: Greater Kashmir correspondent Sumit Bhargav is among 24 journalists from across the country, who have successfully completed the Defence Correspondents Course (DCC 2026), conducted by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, under its Directorate of Public Relations from September 21 to October 10.
The Defence Correspondents Course concluded at Tezpur. Its Navy leg was conducted at Vizag (Visakhapatnam), followed by the Air Force leg at Tezpur and the Indian Army leg at Tezpur, Tenga and Tawang.
“The three-weeks course provided participating journalists with an understanding of the roles, capabilities and operational environments of the three Services,” the Ministry of Defence said.
The valedictory function was chaired by Lieutenant General Neeraj Shukla, General Officer Commanding, Gajraj Corps. Vijay Kumar, Additional Director General (Media and Communication), Ministry of Defence, along with officials of the Directorate of Public Relations, also attended the event.
The course is conducted annually by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India through the Directorate of Public Relations.
After receiving applications from journalists from across the country, a strict screening-criteria is followed that includes in-depth analysis of professional working, experience and reporting intellect of aspirants followed by an interaction which is conducted by a team of officers of concerned authority.
Greater Kashmir correspondent Sumit Bhargav was selected for DCC 2026 after he successfully fulfilled all the prerequisites of the Ministry of Defence.
The course started on September 21 from Vizag (Visakhapatnam) where its Navy leg was conducted wherein twenty four journalists from across the country attended the proceedings at Eastern Naval Command.
Beside going through presentations and allied aspects, the journalists also got a rare opportunity to see submariners beside taking a sea sortie in a Destroyer ship wherein they (journalists) understood the circumstances in which Navy personnel carry out their professional assignments despite multiple challenges that primarily include difficult sea states.
Navy Leg was followed by Indian Air Force leg that was held at Air Force Station Tezpur wherein beside all other important aspects of studying the working of Air Force, the Journalists got a thrilling opportunity to witness a real time mock drill of response of pilots towards an emergency situation from adversaries beside a night time sortie of SU-30 MKI fighter plane.
Under the umbrella of 4 Corps of Indian Army, referred to as Gajraj Corps under Eastern Army Command, the Army leg of DCC 2026 was conducted in areas of Arunachal Pradesh focussing on Indo-China LAC.
The Army keg started from Gajraj Corps HQ after which journalists were taken to Tenga where they not only studied the working mode of army troops on LAC but also joined army troops in their day to day working schedule that especially included firing practices.
The journalists on DCC 2026 were taken to Tawang which is a high-altitude area in Arunachal Pradesh and is strategically very important as it is located on Indo-China LAC.
At Tawang, the journalists visited a number of strategic LAC locations including Bumla LAC point where cross border meetings are held while army personnel of both Indian and Chinese armies standing next to each other followed by visits to holy waterfall, holy tree, Border Brew cafe and other LAC locations.
The Journalists got a rare opportunity to understand the situation on LAC and the way troops of the Indian Army are guarding LAC despite tough weather conditions and other multiple challenges.
At the high altitude area of Tawang, Journalists also joined army troops in night patrolling and alongside a Bada Khana (social evening) to spend time with troops together.
Defence Correspondents Course 2026 concluded at Corps Headquarters Tezpur wherein General Officer Commanding (GOC), Gajraj Corps ( 4 Corps ), Lt Gen Neeraj Shukla interacted with DCC Journalists and both sides shared experiences with each other on a range of issues.
The Journalists also shared their experiences of entire DCC proceedings that especially included visits to forward LAC locations.
During this event, Lt Gen Neeraj Shukla felicitated Greater Kashmir Correspondent Sumit Bhargav who has successfully completed Defence Correspondents Course and has been empanelled with Ministry of Defence as a Defence Journalist.
Through a series of briefings, field visits and interactions with military personnel, the participants gained insights into the functioning of the defence forces and the responsibilities associated with defence reporting, a statement of the Ministry of Defence read.
The engagement also strengthened mutual understanding between the defence forces and the media, underscoring their shared commitment to enhancing public awareness while maintaining due regard for operational sensitivities and national security considerations, the Ministry further stated.
Sharing his perspective, Sumit Bhargav said, “Defence Correspondents Course is a vital step by MoD’s Directorate of Public Relations which is mainly aimed to ensure that both reporting on defence aspects of country and national security do not clash with each other.”
He stated, “Many a time, Fastest Fingers First and Breaking News syndrome on issues related to the defence sector prove detrimental to national security and can even prove handy for adversaries for which journalists also need to maintain a constructive approach.”
He further said that during DCC, all the journalists attending the course came to know about the country’s fast progress in the defence sector and steps being taken to strengthen the security and defence apparatus especially under Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
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