The Army on Wednesday formally started raising five integrated battle groups (IBGs) along the front with China to boost combat readiness.The IBGs have been tasked with responding and striking at targets within 24 hours of getting orders.The concept upgrades the “Cold Start Doctrine”, a military strategy developed after Operation Parakram following the 2001 Parliament attack.Sources said each IBG would be headed by a Major General-rank officer. Five such officers had been posted to take charge of the IBGs, marking the formal raising of the new outfit.With the government sanction letter for the Mountain Strike Corps’ IBGs finalised on July 1, the raising, postings and administrative processes can now commence.The raising is likely to be completed by mid-2027.The IBGs will be stationed in two north-eastern states — Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh — that share a boundary with China. A Fire Support Group, that has long-range artillery guns and other firepower, will serve as the back-up for the IBGs.The Mountain Strike Corps has two divisions — one tasked to Ladakh and the other to the North-East. The sources said the IBGs were currently being raised only in the North-East.An IBG integrates combat formation to make the forces faster, more flexible and self-sufficient. An IBG is designed to be a compact unit with infantry, armour, artillery, engineers, signals, air defence and logistics support under one commander. It is meant to react quickly to threats and operate with less dependence on larger formations.Each IBG will have a strength of around 5,000 personnel, which will be larger than a brigade (3,000-3,500 troops) but smaller than a division (10,000-12,000 troops).Former Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi had stated in January that the government had approved the long-pending proposal for setting up IBGs, the first of which would come up in the Mountain Strike Corps.The creation of the IBGs is part of a series of steps to restructure the Army to make it leaner and more agile. An IBG along the Himalayas has different equipment, training and attack tactics than the forces operating in the plains.The IBGs will not require new raising or inductions. Instead, they will involve integrating the existing elements of the infantry, tank regiments, artillery, UAVs, engineers and signals.A 2022 study on “Re-organisation and rightsizing of the Indian Army” had reviewed operational structures to make them efficient and future-ready by taking into account the operational situation on western and northern borders. The IBGs are part of this.