Chief Of Defence Staff
What function does the Chief of Defense Staff perform?
- The Chiefs of Staff Committee, which has three service chiefs as members, is presided over permanently by CDS.
- His primary responsibility will be to maintain minimal inter-service tensions and promote greater operational synergy between the Indian military’s three service branches.
- He was also the director of the Ministry of Defence’s newly established Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
- The service chiefs will be required to limit their advice to matters involving their own services, and the CDS will serve as the single-point military adviser to the defence minister on matters involving all three services.
- As the permanent chairman-chiefs of staff committee and the head of DMA, CDS is given the power to prioritise decisions regarding inter-service procurement.
- Additionally, the three chiefs might receive instructions from the CDS.
- He lacks command authority over any of the forces, though.
- Within the DoD (Department of Defence), CDS holds the rank of Secretary and is the first among equals. His authority is restricted to the revenue budget exclusively.
- Additionally, he will serve in an advising capacity for the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
What does CDS mean, exactly?
- Synergy between the armed forces and the government: CDS’s job goes beyond promoting tri-service collaboration to also focus on improving communication between the Ministry of Defense’s administrative staff and the armed services.
- Three Service Headquarters (SHQ) have been classified as “Attached Offices” of the Department of Defense since 1947. (DoD).
- Due of this, files are primarily used as a means for communication between SHQ and DoD.
- The decision-making process will go more quickly with the appointment of CDS as the Defense Minister’s PMA.
- Jointness in operations: Because the chairmanship of the Chiefs of Staff Committee-COSC (the forerunner of CDS) is rotated among the three chiefs on a part-time basis, it has proved ineffective.
- In the past, the chairman COSC lacked the power, capability, and motivation to address important tri-service concerns.
- The CDS will be able to give tri-service organisation management his complete attention now that he is the “permanent chairman of COSC.”
- Operationalization of Theatre Command: The establishment of DMA will make joint/theater command more operational.
- The Andaman & Nicobar Command established an effective model for joint operations, but due to a lack of political direction and the COSC’s lack of interest, this joint command has become inactive.
- Staff with the knowledge and experience to deploy land, sea, and aviation forces would be needed by theatre commands. Each of these policies would be most effectively executed by the CDS due to their disruptive effects.
- The Strategic Forces Command will be managed by CDS, a crucial link in the nuclear command chain.
- This action will significantly improve India’s nuclear deterrent’s credibility.
- Additionally, the CDS will start an immediate review of India’s nuclear doctrine.
- A significant role of CDS will be “prioritising” the capital acquisition bids of separate services in the upcoming era of shrinking defence budgets.
- The CDS will need to make sure that the “defence rupee” is well spent, on warfare capabilities that are thought to be essential for national military might, rather than on appeasing service needs.
Why Rethink the CDS Role?
- It has been observed that simply appointing a CDS wasn’t sufficient; there are numerous concerns relating to roles and responsibilities, as well as questions of equivalence and other things.
- With the multiple hats the CDS wears and the overlap in duties between the DMA and DoD, there is also a duality in the roles and responsibilities.
- There is also a reevaluation of the aggressive timetables set for the development of Theatre Commands, as well as the anticipated number of commands and their structure.
What is the status of the Theatre commands?
- The first CDS was given the ambitious task of reorganising the Indian armed forces into integrated theatre commands, which would be the most significant military restructuring in the previous 75 years and profoundly alter how the three services cooperate.
- The Vice Chiefs of the three Services conducted extensive research on the theatre commands, which included the land-based Western and Eastern theatre commands, the maritime theatre command, and an integrated air defence command. It was decided that the Army’s Northern Command would be excluded initially and then included later.
- However, there are still several areas where there are disagreements, including the Air Force’s worries about the air defence command and the title and rotation of the theatre commands, among other things.
- The procedure has stopped because to the lack of a CDS and ongoing disagreements despite the fact that further studies were authorised and are now being conducted.
Way ahead:
- A CDS with operational authority is required, and following the necessary legal amendments, he will receive reports from theatre commanders while the Service Chiefs manage the raise, train, and sustain functions of the individual Services.
- Since the creation of CDS will not be a panacea, India must make extensive reforms to modernise its armed forces in order to address the security concerns of the twenty-first century.
