Nsa-led panel does groundwork for CDS

NEWDELHI: A high-level committee helmed by NSA Ajit Doval will finalise t he modalities f or appointing a chief of defence staff (CDS) in the next three weeks, paving the way for a single-point military adviser to the government by the end of December, official sources said on Wednesday.

Though Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat remains a front-runner for the post, the government has asked the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to recommend the names of their most senior commanders for the new position, they said.

“All the three services have forwarded the names of their commander-in-chief rank officers as was asked for by the government. The implementation committee report is also complete and would be finalised by the government soon,” government sources told news agency ANI.

Sources said that the purpose of seeking more names from services is to consider a larger pool of off i cers while making t he appointment for the new office.

It said that during the discussions, the defence forces in the implementation committee had conveyed to the government that the CDS could be an officer higher in protocol than the existing services chiefs.

New cyber, space and special operations agencies have been created for the tri-services and they would be working under the CDS, sources said.

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that India will have the CDS as head of the tri-services, a proposal pending since the Kargil conflict in 1999.