Chief of Defence staff

01 Oct 2022 Chief of Defence staff

Source: The Hindu; The Indian Express

News: Appointment of Lt General (retired) Anil Chauhan as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Mandate and role of Chief of Defence Staff(CDS):

• Initial mandate of CDS was to ensure “jointness” of the three services in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance.
• Military role: Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (consists of three service chiefs), earlier headed by senior-most chief by rotation. As a Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will be supported by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.
• Government role: Head of Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the defence ministry. As a head of DMA, he will act as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister on tri-services matters. In this role CDS will facilitate establishment of joint/ theatre commands for optimum utilisation of military resources.
• Difference between DMA and DoD: Department of Military Affairs (DMA) will look after works exclusively pertaining to military matters. On the other hand,the Department of Defence(DoD) will look after the defence of the country. Example: Tri-service military training institutions will fall under the DMA while Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis(IDSA)and National Defence Council(NDC)will fall under the Department of Defence.
• CDS will not exercise any military command over the three service chiefs.
• Even after creation of Chief of Defence (CDS) posts three service chiefs will continue to advise the Defence Minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective services.
• Despite being the status of a Cabinet Secretary, CDS will head a department headed by Defence Secretary.
• According to the government’s gazette notification CDS will be responsible for the defence of the country.

Current issues associated with CDS:

• CDS is still an evolving institution which is witnessed by delay and changes done in eligibility criteria  for current appointments.
• Possibility of diminishing dignity of CDS’s office: As for the current appointment of CDS, the government made arbitrary changes that expanded the pool of eligible candidates.
• Obscurity regarding the role of CDS with respect to the Ministry of Defence: A new department of military affairs was carved with CDS as secretary after reorganising the Ministry of Defence,but still CDS did not have clarity in terms of functions and roles across the Defence Ministry.
• Unclear relationship of CDS with three service Chiefs (Naval, Airforce and Army) in terms of operational and administrative duties. 

Challenges before new CDS:

• Integration and transformation of armed forces through their reorganization and by bringing in synergy between them. 
• Building a bridge between transformative government and traditional military organizations that is resistant to change to keep pace with contemporary security demands.
• Build intellectual capital within armed forces to ensure national security: Before the emergence of CDS, a powerful layer of Bureaucracy acted as a policy interface between armed forces and politicians. This arrangement led to corruption in defence deals due to vested interests of politicians.
• Rapid building of operational capability to manage military power asymmetry vis-à-vis China.
• Integrating military planning,training and operations through fresh structures that  adequately addressed India – specific requirements.
• Evolve policies, doctrines and strategies for defence forces: Develop tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) for Armed forces under National Military Doctrine. 
• Retaining operational capability of defence forces along with self-reliance in defence manufacturing. 
• Shedding colonial legacies and traditions through promotion of India’s ancient martial traditions from Mahabharata,Maratha and Chola empire.
• Holding national security above all in a rapidly evolving geopolitical and global security environment.
• Issues of functional efficiency and effectiveness of the CDS due to hard-coded bureaucratic rules as CDS will head a department headed by a secretary despite being the status of of  Cabinet Secretary.

Way forward:

• Promulgation Of National Security Strategy (NSS): CDS along with strategic establishment should work for National Security Strategy (NSS). 
• CDS should ensure that Armed forces develop diverse intellectual capital by ensuring lateral entry into the innovation and manufacturing space.
• Develop capability of defence forces based on the model of US, France and Israel by breaking current silos of innovators and designers (scientists), manufacturers (PSUs and the private sector) and users (armed forces). 
• CDS must be impartial and should speak truth to power while dealing with spectrums of conflicts related to national security.

Article: Explained: What are role, powers of CDS?;T he Chief’s task(Arjun Subramaniam); Evolving chair: On the Chief of Defence Staff post.

Article Link:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-are-roles-powers-chief-of-defence-staff-6195264/ 
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/new-cds-must-build-a-bridge-between-a-government-in-a-hurry-and-an-organisation-resistant-to-change-8181339/
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/evolving-chair-the-hindu-editorial-on-the-chief-of-defence-staff-post/article65951471.ece

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