General Bipin Rawat Likely to be Appointed as 'Chief of Defence Staff'

In a landmark decision, the Government of India has approved the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General. It is likely that Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat, shall be appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff, said sources.

The Chief of Defence Staff will also head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), to be created within the Ministry of Defence, and function as its Secretary. The Chief will be appointed with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief

Earlier, the Prime Minister on August 15, 2019, while addressing the people, had said, "India should not have a fragmented approach. Our entire military power will have to work in unison and move forward…. All three (Services) should move simultaneously at the same pace. There should be good coordination and it should be relevant to the hope and aspirations of our people. It should be in line with the changing war and security environment with the world….. after the formation of this post (CDS), all the three forces will get effective leadership at the top level."

The areas that will be dealt with by the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS are the Armed Forces of the Union, namely, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters and Defence Staff Headquarters, Territorial Army, works relating to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent rules and procedures.

Apart from these, the mandate of the Department of Military Affairs will include the areas

that promote jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the Services through joint planning and integration of their requirements.

Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilization of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint/theatre commands and promoting the use of indigenous equipment by the Services will also be under the mandate.

The Chief of Defence Staff, apart from being the head of the Department of Military Affairs, will also be the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) on all tri-Services matters.

The three Chiefs will continue to advise RM on matters exclusively concerning their respective services. CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three Service Chiefs, so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.

As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will administer tri-services organizations. Tri-service agencies/organisations/commands related to Cyber and Space will be under the command of the CDS.

He will be a member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri and Defence Planning Committee chaired by NSA.

He will function as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority.

The CDS will also bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services, within three years of the first CDS assuming office.

He will ensure optimal utilization of infrastructure and rationalize it through jointness among the services, implement Five-Year Defence Capital  Acquisition  Plan (DCAP), and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP), assign inter-Services prioritisation to capital acquisition proposals based on the anticipated budget and bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.