Govt okays ‘first among equals’ in armed forces

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday cleared the appointment of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will be a four-star officer and head the department of military powers in the defence ministry, Union minister Prakash Javadekar announced at a cabinet briefing. The development, perhaps the most significant reform in top military management in India, comes four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech the creation of the post for more effective coordination between the three armed forces.

The appointment of the CDS — pending for almost two decades after the Kargil Review Committee recommended it — is a major reform in India’s higher defence

management, Javadekar said. The CDS will have the same salary and perquisites as the three service chiefs (who are also four-star officers), he added.

The government is yet to announce who will be the country’s first CDS, but army chief General Bipin Rawat is widely believed to be the front-runner for the post. His term as army chief ends on December 31 and the government is likely to name the CDS before that, said two senior government officers, asking not to be named.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that the decision to create CDS was a major step towards bringing about jointmanship between the armed forces and with the decision, the government had fulfilled the commitment given by PM Narendra Modi on August 15.

“In a historic decision for ushering in reforms in the higher defence management in the country, the Government has decided to create a post of Chief of Defence Staff and to create a Department of Military Affairs, within the Ministry of Defence (MoD),” he said in another tweet.

A defence ministry statement said while the CDS would act as the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all triservices matters, the three service chiefs would continue to advise the minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective services. “The 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,” the ministry said in a statement. Still, it is expected that the CDS will be a first among equals, also because he will be senior to all the other chiefs in terms of service.