Indian Army Corps of Signals

Indian Army Corps of Signals is a corps and a combat support arm of the Indian Army, which handles its military communications. It was formed on 15 February 1911 as a separate entity under Lieutenant Colonel S H Powell, and went on to make important contributions to World War I and World War II.^[1] The corps celebrated its 100-year anniversary of its raising on 15 February 2010.^[2]

History

After a notification was issued as a Special Army Order dated February 3, 1911, for the organisation of two signal companies, the corps of signals was formed on February 15, 1911, when the 31st and 32nd Divisional Signal Companies, the first Signals units, were raised at Fatehgarh in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Lieutenant Colonel SH Powell, Royal Engineers, was the founder and first head of the Indian Signal Service, which later became the Indian Signal Corps.^[3] Until then, the Sappers which were part of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers that was established in 1777, were in charge of passing battlefield messages. Subsequently, the 33rd and 34th Divisional Signal Companies were raised at Ahmednagar, along with the nucleus of the 41st Wireless Squadron at Roorkee on March 1, 1911.^[3]

After India gained its

In the mid-1980s, a dedicated organisation to test communication systems was formed, which is now known as the Army Centre for Electromagnetics (ACE). The Indian Army became the first agency to use digital technology for both switching and transmission.[3]

Training and technology

The Corps works closely with the

The Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow is a premiere training institute of the Corps of Signals. Its war museum is situated at Jabalpur, where 1 Signals Training Centre is based.

References