Indian Army Corps of Signals is a corps and a combat support arm of the Indian Army, which handles its

military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered b ...

. 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. The corps celebrated its 100-year anniversary of its raising on 15 February 2010.

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 The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

, was the founder and first head of the Indian Signal Service, which later became the Indian Signal Corps. 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 Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

, along with the nucleus of the 41st Wireless Squadron at

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The c ...

on March 1, 1911. After India gained its independence in 1947, Brigadier CHI Acehurst became the first head of the Corps of Signals, after the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and 1971 wars, the corps underwent important expansions. The corps formally received its regimental colours on 20 February 1965 and on 15 February 1981. 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.

Training and technology

Stamp of India - 2011 - Colnect 259242 - Corps of Signals

The Corps works closely with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop command and control software, notably the Samyukta Electronic Warfare System, a mobile integrated electronic warfare system, developed along with Bharat Electronics Limited.Army gets hi-tech warfare system
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Military College of Telecommunication Engineering The Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE) is the engineering training establishment for the Corps of Signals, established 1911, of the Indian Army. It is located near Indore, in the town formerly known as Mhow, now called D ...

(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

External links

Stamp issued by India Post

Corps of Signals
at Indian Army website
Corps of Signals
at Bharat Rakshak website
Corps of Signals
at Global Security website {{Indian_Army_Arms_and_Services S Military communications corps Military communications of India Military units and formations established in 1911