Chief of Defence Staff – Burning Issues

Table of Contents

KARGIL WAR 1999

It was after the 1999 Kargil War that a recommendation for creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was first made. A high-level committee(Kargil Review Committee)
set up to examine the gaps in the country’s security system had suggested that the three services should have a Chief of Defence Staff.
The committee said the CDS should be a five-star military officer who would act as the single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Then in 2012, the Naresh Chandra Task Force recommended a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC). The CoSC comprises chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force.
The senior-most would act as the

General Bipin Rawat was on (December 30) appointed the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a newly created post meant to enhance the quality of military advice to the political leadership through integration of service inputs.

The Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, was the position of hierarchy in the Indian Armed Forces
The position ceased to exists with the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff.

United States: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
According to the US Department of Defence website, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the nation’s highest-ranking military officer and the principal military adviser to the President
United Kingdom: Chief of the Defence Staff The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the Armed Forces and principal military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence (equivalent to Minister for Defence in India) and the
The UK CDS reports to the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister, according to the webpage of the UK Defence Ministry.

As per the notification by the government, the upper age limit for the CDS has been fixed at 65 years.
He will be a Four-star General.

One of the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which has the three service chiefs as members, and the other of the head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the ministry.
The former is a military role while the latter is a role in the government; it is as the head of DMA that his major responsibilities within the ministry will be

The ministry already had four departments: Department of Defence; Department of Defence Production; Department of Defence Research and Development; and Department of Ex- servicemen Welfare.
The charter of duties of the DMA was so far looked after by the Department of Defence, which is headed by the Defence Secretary who is also the secretary in- charge of the Defence Ministry.

Work exclusively pertaining to military matters will fall within the purview of the DMA while the Department of Defence will deal with larger issues pertaining to defence of the country.
To give an illustrative example, this means that while tri-service military training institutions will fall under the DMA, organisations like IDSA and NDC whose remit is broader than military matters will fall under the Department of Defence.
It is speculated that whereas the Defense Secretary will be the main “defence” advisor, the CDS will assume the role of being the main “military” advisory, acting as the single-point military advisor to the government and Prime Minister.

Nominator – Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) decides appointments to several top posts under the Government of India.The committee is composed of the Prime Minister of India (who is the Chairman), the Minister of Home Affairs.