Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who doesn't carry a cell phone, on Tuesday said soldiers could not be denied access to the social media and they should be allowed to use smartphones within a line of controlled discipline. He said the Indian Army needed to make optimal usage of the social media in the advanced age of communication and information.

"The social Media gaining momentum faster than we thought. (If we don't catch up) we will be left far behind and we will be firefighting again," General Rawat said, speaking at a seminar on "Social Media and Armed Forces". "Information is one of the pillars of national power. There is no way the Armed Forces can remain away from that," he said