Independence Day 2019: Now, PM Narendra Modi integrates military

On the occasion of India's 73rd Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort announced that from now on the country will have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as head of the tri-services for better coordination between the forces — the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force.

In his 93-minute speech, Modi said, "To further sharpen coordination between the forces, I want to announce a major decision from the Red Fort: India will have a Chief of Defence Staff. This is going to make the forces even more effective."

Seeing the security challenges India is facing, the role of CDS will be to take up decisions on key defence and strategic issues. Also, the government has planned that the three chiefs — Chief of Army, Navy and Air Force — would be responsible for operational preparedness whereas the CDS will be responsible for defence preparedness of the country.

Actually, in 2001, a Group of Ministers (GoM) had recommended that India should create a position for a Chief of Defence Staff. The recommendation came from the Kargil Review Committee headed by K Subrahmanyam, whose son S Jaishankar is now India's External Affairs Minister.

Interestingly, it is not clear who will be the country's first Chief of Defence Staff but many believe in the forces that Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who is to retire in December this year, could be appointed.

After Kargil war, the government, based on recommendations, had created two posts — Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, which is mainly a ceremonial post. Currently, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee is IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, who will be succeeded by Rawat next month. Under the present structure, the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee coordinates tri-services issues.

The government has set up a high-level implementation committee to advise the government on the modalities of appointing a Chief of Defence Staff. The Committee comprises the Defence Secretary and the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee among others. The committee will give its report to the government in three months, in November 2019.

Currently, it is not yet clear whether the CDS will have supremacy over the three chiefs of staff or will be equal in rank with the other three chiefs.