Chief of Defence Staff (India)


The Chief of Defence Staff is the head and chief of staff of the Indian Armed Forces. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking military officer on active duty within the armed forces and is the chief military adviser to the Government of India, the Prime Minister of India and the Minister of Defence, the head of the Ministry of Defence.
The position was first officially suggested in 1999 following the Kargil War through the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee. Although a long-talked-about position in India, the official call was made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech on at Red Fort, New Delhi. On 24 December 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Security formally announced the creation of the position, a four-star general, a tri-service chief, that shall lead the defence forces.
It is considered that the Chief of Defence Staff is a critical position in today's era of hybrid warfare, and will help increase coordination, tri-service effectiveness and integrate overall combat capabilities of Indian armed forces. The Defence Secretary, a civil servant, remains as the main defence adviser, whilst the CDS has been sanctioned the role of being the main military adviser, acting as the single-point military adviser to the government and Prime Minister. India was the only large democracy which did not have a single point military advisor; with all P5 countries having one.
General Bipin Rawat took over as the first CDS on 1 January 2020. He will serve a full three-year term till December 2022.

History

The idea of creation of such a post goes back to as early Lord Mountbatten. General K. V. Krishna Rao advanced creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in June 1982. However, officially, it was only following the Kargil Review Committee's recommendation in 1999 that the Group of Ministers officially proposed the creation of the post of CDS in 2001. Following committees, including the Naresh Chandra task force in 2012 and the Lieutenant General D. B. Shekatkar Committee in 2016, also proposed their own versions of a CDS. The process of consulting all parties involved began in 2006. In 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Security started the process of making the final decision related to the creation of a post for the CDS. The post of Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee had been formed as a precursor to the post of CDS, responsible for the national military strategy.
The matter had opposition over the years on various fronts. After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal, had threatened to quit if the post of CDS was created. There were also fears that such a post would be too powerful. In 2001 the government was on the brink of making the then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral, Sushil Kumar, the CDS. A date had been fixed including other formalities. However, due to turf wars, among other reasons, the idea was scrapped.
Following the Prime Minister's announcement, a committee was announced on 23 August 2019 under the National Security Advisor, consisting of the Cabinet Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee among others, to make final the powers of the CDS. The committee was to submit its report within six weeks. By November 2019, government sources reported the committee had largely completed its tasks and would release an official charter and enabling framework for the post of CDS by mid-December. On 24 December, the Cabinet Committee on Security formally established the post of Chief of Defence Staff, a four-star general, a tri-service Chief, that shall lead the defence forces as well as play the role of head of the Department of Military Affairs.
Among the first reforms proposed by the new CDS was the creation of an Air Defence Command. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDS emphasised the need to minimise costly defence imports, give a chance to domestic production even with only 70% of the general staff qualitative requirements, and not 'misrepresent operational requirements'.

Description of the post

The CDS is a four-star officer selected from among the serving officers of the Indian Armed Forces. While being "first among equals" among the service chiefs, the CDS would be a single-point military advisor the CDS will not hold any military command. The holder of the post would also be the head of all tri-service command structures, assisted by a deputy, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff to replace the post of Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. The CDS would head a newly-created Department of Military Affairs, under the Ministry of Defence, as its secretary. Apart from heading the DMA, the CDS will also be the Permanent Chairperson of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He will also be the Principal Military Adviser to the Minister of Defence.
As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will perform the following functions:
The CDS's salary and perquisites will be same as the service chiefs. The CDS will come under the Right to Information Act.

Uniform and insignia

While the Chief of Defence Staff wears the appropriately coloured uniform of their parent service, the gold-wreathed tri-service emblem of the Indian Armed Forces is used in place of service insignia and unit emblems. The wreathed tri-service emblem is also substituted for service cap badges, uniform button and belt badge service insignia, shoulder flashes and the shoulder rank badges of a four-star officer with The four-star gorget patches similar to that used by a service chief. While the car pennant is that of the officer's parent service, the tri-service emblem is substituted for the rank stars.

Creation of theatre command

Among the initial reforms by the Chief of Defence Staff was much awaited structural change through the creation of theatre commands. following are its key points -

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