DNA Explainer: Amid no clear line of succession, why it's necessary to appoint a new CDS

In a country that is surrounded by hostile neighbours, for decades there had been a demand for the creation of the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces is the military head and chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Indian Armed Forces.

The very fortunate and decorated military officer General Bipin Rawat got the opportunity to become the country's first Chief of Defence Staff. CDS General Bipin Rawat was appointed the first tri-service chief with effect from December 31, 2019.

The formation of the CDS post was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 during his Independence Day speech. General Bipin Rawat's tenure as the Army Chief drew to a close in December 2019, thereby becoming the first sitting Chief of Army Staff to be designated to the top post.  

But fate had its own way. Barely two years to become the Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat left for the heavenly abode with his wife after a fatal air crash on Wednesday near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. With another year remaining to his tenure, his sudden demise has created an unforeseen situation for the security establishment.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is also the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).

What lies ahead

As the CDS, General Bipin Rawat was a one-point advisor to the government on matters pertaining to the military.

The CDS functioned with the key objective of integrating the three services - Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by PM Narendra Modi, met on Wednesday to discuss the succession.

In this meeting of CCS, tribute was paid to those who lost their lives in the Mi-17 V5 crash with two minutes of silence.

According to some media reports, the name of the next Chief of Defence Staff was also discussed in this meeting.

The most eligible name that is coming up for the post of CDS is that of present Army Chief General MM Naravane.

Names of Air Force Chief Marshal VR Choudhary and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar are also being speculated.

The challenges

The Modi government is expected to follow the same merit-cum-seniority in deciding the senior-most defence officer of the country.

The government has an uphill task of appointing a new CDS from the Indian Army to match the qualities of General Bipin Rawat in his successor.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat used to say that India is facing threat from 2.5 fronts.

The national security establishment will have to keep in mind the threat coming from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region with Kabul under Taliban rule.

Events in Pakistan suggest PM Imraan Khan has turned more aggressive towards India in Kashmir and is supportive of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The situation with China is tense on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with PLA troops, tanks, rockets and missiles deployed in the Western Theatre.

India needs a CDS who will forcefully push for the creation of military theatre commands and provide sound single-point military advice to the government.

Military confrontation with China has been going on for 19 months in eastern Ladakh. Due to this, there is a dire need for an early appointment of CDS.

This is to integrate the Army, Navy and Air Force into theatre commands and create synergies between them in terms of procurement, planning, training and principles.

Selection criteria

All the commanders in chief of the Army can be considered for the job of the CDS and seniority is not the only criteria.

It has been observed that simply upgrading each commander to the next step is not the way that the Modi government works.

The careers of all officers under consideration will be looked at from every angle and their performance during the ongoing stand-off with PLA in Ladakh.

It will be kept in consideration that 21st-century warfare is all about cyber and information warfare with Beijing not averse to spending huge sums of money.