09 September 2024 – The Hindu

Advancement of Indian Defence Sector

• India continuously manages major and long-lasting threats to its sovereignty and national security. Although its trajectory has been uneven thus far, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was established in 2019 with the goal of improving overall combat efficiency and preparing for new emergencies formed by the techno-strategic churn.
• According to recent sources, in order to support the CDS’s many tasks, new positions such as Vice CDS and Deputy CDS may be considered. In addition, there is currently a pressing need for greater integration amongst the three armed forces of India in order to provide smooth coordination, cohesive tactics, and improved operational efficiency.

What Justification Was There for Designating the CDS?

• Encouraging Jointmanship: For many years, it was believed that a significant structural shortcoming affecting India’s overall combat performance was the Army, Navy, and Air Force’s lack of integrated planning and resource optimisation.
• As an illustration of the need for greater integration, consider India’s combined actions during the 1999 Kargil War, which in some ways lacked planning and coordination.
• Creating a Single Military Adviser: The CDS was intended to serve as the government’s powerful, all-in-one military advisor, bridging the civilian-military divide and offering strategic direction.
• It was challenging to get a coherent military perspective prior to the CDS since the three service chiefs gave the government independent, sometimes contradictory, recommendations.
• Improving Operational Synergy: The CDS is responsible for leading the shift to integrated theatre commands, which will increase interoperability and operational synergy between the services.
• More efficient coordination amongst the services could have increased the efficacy of the response during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief efforts.
• Optimising Resource Allocation: The CDS is anticipated to rationalise defence spending and guarantee the best possible use of resources among the services by encouraging jointmanship.
• Strategic Force Management: The CDS is tasked with supervising capability development, force organisation, and long-term defence planning in order to match military readiness with changing security threats.

What is the timeline for India’s Chief of Defence Staff position’s creation?

• 1999: K. led the Kargil Review Committee. Subrahmanyam suggested that in order to strengthen defence decision-making, a thorough assessment of the national security framework be conducted.
• A comprehensive analysis and restructuring of the interface and mechanisms between Service Headquarters and the Defence Ministry were also suggested by the committee.
• 2001: A Group of Ministers (GoM) suggested the establishment of the position of Chief of Defence Staff based on the report of the Kargil Review Committee.
• 2001–2019: A lack of political will and broad agreement prevented any government from implementing this important defence reform, even though the GoM recommended it.
• To promote greater unity and integration in their armed forces, numerous powerful nations, including France, Italy, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Japan, had already established the position of Chief of Defence Staff.
• 2019: The Cabinet Committee on Security made the momentous decision to establish the position of Chief of Defence Staff on December 24, 2019, with the goal of improving the calibre of military counsel provided to political leadership by incorporating service contributions.
• The purpose of this action was to cultivate defense-related expertise in order to make better, more informed decisions.
• The Chief of Staff Committee’s Permanent Chairman and the Defence Minister’s Principal Military Advisor on all tri-service affairs were recognised positions held by the CDS.
• General Bipin Rawat, a former chief of staff of the Army, was named the nation’s first chief of defence staff on December 31, 2019.
• The Department of Military Affairs was established with approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security as well.
• The Department of Defence is responsible for national defence and policy, whereas this new department manages all military-related matters.
• 2022: On September 28, 2022, retired Lt General Anil Chauhan was named Chief of Defence Staff.
• What Elements Have Contributed to the Office of CDS’s Mixed Trajectory in India?
• Tragic Interruption and Policy Discontinuity: In December 2021, barely a year after assuming command, General Bipin Rawat, the first CDS, tragically lost his life in an aircraft accident.
• The next CDS was not appointed by the Indian government for an incomprehensible nine months, which affected the efficacy and continuity of defence leadership and strategic planning.
• Overload of Responsibilities: It seems that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is currently carrying an excessive amount of responsibility.
• Critics contend that this overlap of responsibilities, which called for a combination of administrative skill, military expertise, and strategic political advice, may have limited the CDS’s ability to focus on its primary goal of promoting joint operational synergy.
• Insufficient Agreement Among the Services: The Army, Navy, and Air Force may have different goals, competing interests, and contrasting viewpoints, which could impede the effectiveness of CDS.
• In reference to the varying opinions among the services, especially the Indian Air Force, the Indian Minister of Defence has noted that numerous viewpoints need to be taken into consideration when creating integrated theatre commands.
• Reaching an understanding across the three services—each with own customs, cultures, and priorities—has proven to be extremely difficult.
• Which New Defence Challenges Call for India to Take a More Coordinated and Integrated Approach?
• Two-Front Threat Scenario: Given the continuous border tensions and unresolved territorial issues, India confronts the possibility of possible simultaneous confrontations with China and Pakistan.
• The 2020 conflict in the Galwan Valley with China and Pakistan’s repeated breaches of the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), most recently in November 2023, highlight the necessity of synchronised military readiness on both fronts.
• Hybrid Warfare and Cross-Border Terrorism: A comprehensive and multifaceted response is needed to address the challenge of hybrid warfare, which mixes conventional and unconventional techniques, including cross-border terrorism.
• TikTok was among the various mobile applications that the Indian government prohibited in 2020 due to worries about national security and the possibility that they would be used for hybrid warfare.
• Maritime Security and Blue-Water Ambitions: India needs a robust, integrated maritime strategy incorporating the Coast Guard, Navy, and other agencies if it hopes to become a maritime force with global reach.
• The Indian Ocean Region necessitates a strong and coordinated naval presence as well as maritime domain awareness due to its vital sea lanes of communication and energy supply routes.
• India’s maritime interests are strategically threatened by China’s expanding naval might and influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), which includes the acquisition of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port and the construction of a naval station in Djibouti.
• Force Modernization and Capability Development: To be effective, force modernization and capability development must take a comprehensive strategy that avoids duplication and ensures interoperability by taking into account the needs of all three services.
• The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) and Rafale fighter jets are examples of new platforms that require integration and cooperative training with other service components.
• Space Security and Counter-Space Capabilities: India’s Armed Forces must work together to ensure space security and build counter-space capabilities, as the country depends more and more on space-based assets for both military and civilian purposes.
• As part of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out ‘Mission Shakti’ in 2019, which involved using an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile to neutralise a satellite in orbit.
• Operations in the Arctic and Antarctic: India has realised the necessity to build cooperative defence capabilities for operations in these harsh conditions as a result of the opportunities and difficulties that the changing global climate has brought about in these regions.

What Steps Can Be Done to Improve Indian Armed Forces Integration?

• Improving Role Clarity: To guarantee a distinct separation of command and control channels, the current role distribution between the CDS and the three service chiefs must be streamlined.
• Furthermore, there may be a chance to improve and streamline the Chief of Defence Staff institution through the possible introduction of the roles of Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Dy CDS) and Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS).
• Integrated Theatre Commands: It is imperative to give top priority to the long-overdue deployment of integrated theatre commands, which are designed to encourage teamwork and resource efficiency.
• An important first step towards establishing unified theatre commands is the government’s recent announcement of the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control, and Discipline) Act.
• The implementation of cross-service rotational assignments for officers and personnel in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• Through this effort, people are exposed to various operational contexts, mutual understanding is fostered, and service collaboration is encouraged.
• It also fosters a common viewpoint on defence operations and aids in the removal of cultural barriers.
• Create Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Fusion Centres: These facilities should be set up to compile and evaluate information that is accessible to the public from a variety of sources, such as news sources, social media, scholarly studies, and satellite images.
• utilising geospatial intelligence, natural language processing (NLP), and advanced data analytics to produce threat assessments, early warning indications, and actionable insights for defence operations and planning.
• Quantum-Secure Communications Network: Using quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols, create a quantum-secure communications network.
• In order to defend key infrastructure, share intelligence, and conduct joint military operations, this network offers extremely secure and unbreakable communication channels. It also reintegrates India’s defence forces and guards against cyberattacks and data breaches.