Chief of Defence Staff (India)

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Chief of Defence Staff
Badge of the Chief of Defence Staff
Flag of the Chief of Defence Staff
Incumbent
General Anil Chauhan
PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM
since 30 September 2022
Indian Armed Forces
TypeChief of defence
StatusOverall professional head of the Indian Armed Forces.
AbbreviationCDS
Member of
Reports to
ADC
Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC)
Salary₹250,000 (US$3,100) monthly[2][3]
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the principal military authority and senior-most appointment of the Indian Armed Forces.[4] Deemed the overall professional head of India’s three armed services, namely, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force, the CDS is the highest-ranking military officer in service, responsible for overseeing inter-service jointness across all disciplines related to military functioning.[5] Primarily, the office operates on a status of primus inter pares i.e., first among equals with the chiefs of the three services, and functions as the Permanent-Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) – the inter-service syndicate responsible for ensuring the establishment-cum-preservation of military integration.[6]

Statutorily, the CDS is the presiding secretary of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the foremost civil-cum-military entity responsible for fostering professional coordination between the services, and by extension, is also the principal military advisor to the nation’s civilian leadership i.e., the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on affairs privy to inter-service integration; as such, the office exists primarily as an advisor-cum-adjudicator position, endowed with no operational command control.[7]

Since its formal creation in 2020, the CDS is officiated on a rotational basis by four-star officers nominated from either of the three services.[8] Domestically, the office ranks 12th-overall in the Indian order of precedence, and is the status-equivalent of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff; internationally, it is functionally identical to Pakistan's Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the United Kingdom's Chief of the Defence Staff, and the Unites States' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[9][10]

Description

Roles and responsibilities

As the principal military authority of the Indian Armed Forces, the CDS is tasked with multiple mandates, which are elaborated in the undermentioned:[11]

  • Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (PC-COSC)
  • Ex-officio Secretary, Department of Military Affairs (Secretary-DMA)
    • Answerable to the Parliament an all affairs exclusively related to the armed forces.[13]
    • Facilitates the restructuring of service-specific military commands to ensure the optimal utilization of resources by fostering jointness in operations, principally through the establishment of joint-service theatre commands.[11]
    • Promotes jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the three armed services through joint-planning and integration of their respective requirements.[11]

Appointment

General Bipin Rawat, second-from-right, along with the three service chiefs in January 2020; his later acting successor, General M. M. Naravane, is seen far-left.

Since its creation in January 2020, the office of CDS has customarily been held by a

Minister of Defence, whereupon the appointment is finalized.[15]

Notably, at the time of the office's creation, no fixed structure for an order of succession existed; thus, in the formative period of the office's existence, the senior-most service chief was recommended for appointment; the first instance of this was General Bipin Rawat, then the COAS and senior-most amongst the three chiefs.[15][16] However, Rawat's unexpected death in 2021 whilst in tenure exposed this flaw; consequently, in June 2022, the MoD established a permanent set of appointment-cum-succession rules, stating that deemed four-star and three-star officers from the armed services, notwithstanding their states of being active or retired, would be deemed eligible candidates to be appointed to the office, provided they hadn't attained the age of 62 at the time of appointment.[17]

As of 2022, the appointment regulations for CDS, whilst same for the three services, are classified distinctively, namely:

  • Indian Army: Army (Amendment) Rules, 2022[17]
  • Indian Navy: Naval Ceremonial, Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous (Amendment) Regulations, 2022[17]
  • Indian Air Force: Air Force (Amendment) Regulations, 2022[17]

The first time the regulations were actively exercised was in the appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan in September 2022; Chauhan, a former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) in the IA who had retired in May 2021, was promptly recalled to active service and promoted to general.[18][19]

Tenure

Under an initial set of regulations established by the MoD in December 2019,[20] the service chiefs from the three services, namely, the COAS, the CNS and the CAS, having completed their mandated three-year tenure or having attained the age of 62, were deemed eligible to be appointed CDS, with the chosen designate tenuring the office to the maximum deemed age of 65; unlike the service chiefs, the CDS has no fixed tenure, but only an upper age limit.[20] The aforementioned 2022 regulations expanded the office's reach, allowing both active and retired officers to occupy the office until the age of 65.[17]

Previously, in the event of the an abrupt stoppage during the incumbent's tenure - by termination, resignation or sudden demise, the senior-most service chief was made acting-COSC and by extension, an ex officio-CDS until a suitable successor was appointed; this situation has occurred only once, when General Manoj Mukund Naravane, then-COAS of the IA, was made acting-COSC upon the death of General Rawat, the then-incumbent CDS.[21]

Insignia

Command flag

The office of CDS maintains a separate command flag, regardless of the incumbent appointee's parent service, symbolizing the independence of the position and its associated authority from the armed services.[22] The flag comprising a maroon field - representing the inter-service jointness, furnished with the National Flag of India in the canton and the inter-service insignia of the Indian Armed Forces - comprising twin-crossed swords, an unfouled anchor and an eagle surrounded by an oak wreath in gold-furnishing.[23] Similar to that of the service chiefs, this particular command flag is preferably displayed on the CDS's official car and at his office.[24]

Accroutements

Whilst the CDS is a rotational appointment held by officers drawn from the three armed services, the CDS is an independent entity, thus mandating an exclusively distinct set of accoutrements.[25] Notably, the CDS uniform allows the appointee to retain certain paraphernalia, such as the uniform of the appointee's parent service and its associated decorations; nonetheless, it lacks a lanyard, unlike the uniforms of the service chiefs.[23]

In addition, the office mandates several distinct emendations, the primary of which are undermentioned:[23]

Item Image Description
Epaulette
Maroon shoulder epaulette attached with the State Emblem of India atop the inter-service insignia of the Indian Armed Forces surrounded by an oak wreath, in gold-furnishing.[25]
Service cap
Peak cap of the appointee's parent service, with an additional maroon band attached with the inter-service insignia surrounded by an oak wreath, in gold-furnishing.[23]
Belt buckle
Silver buckle designed with the inter-service insignia surrounded by an oak wreath, in gold-furnishing.[25]
Button
Gold-colored button furnished solely with inter-service insignia.[25]

Appointees

Key

† - Died in office

* - Veteran recalled to active service

No. Portrait Chief of Defence Staff Took office Left office Time in office Service branch Minister of Defence Ref.
1
ADC
(1958–2021)
1 January 20208 December 2021 †1 year, 341 days Indian ArmySingh, RajnathRajnath Singh[26][27]
Vacant
(9 December 2021–29 September 2022)
2
Anil Chauhan PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM
Chauhan, AnilGeneral
Anil Chauhan
PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM
(born 1961*)		30 September 2022Incumbent1 year, 200 days Indian ArmySingh, RajnathRajnath Singh[28]

See also

Inter-service offices

Other offices of the Indian Armed Forces

International equivalents

References

  1. ^ "Services rules amended for Army, Navy and Air Force, CDS can serve till 65". theprint.in. 29 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. ^ "CDS Salary 2024: Basic Pay Scale, Benefits, Perks & Allowances". www.cheggindia.com. 19 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Chiefs of Armed Forces". www.india.gov.in.
  5. ^ "Explainer: What India's First Chief of Defence Staff Is Supposed To Do". thewire.in. 31 December 2019.
  6. ^ "CDS: The long and arduous road ahead". www.orfonline.org. 31 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Functions of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)". pib.gov.in. 3 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b "CDS: The long and arduous road ahead". www.orfonline.org. 31 December 2019.
  9. ^ "PRESIDENT'S SECRETARIAT" (PDF). www.mha.gov.in. 26 July 1979.
  10. ^ "The Indian army's first Chief of Defence Staff". tribune.com.pk. 7 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Cabinet approves creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of four star General". pib.gov.in. 24 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Institution of the Chief of Defence Staff: Evaluating the First Year". www.delhipolicygroup.org. 1 January 2021.
  13. ^ "CDS was needed. But Modi govt also creating Department of Military Affairs is a big bonus". theprint.in. 25 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Cabinet Committee on Security clears Chief of Defence Staff post: Here are all the details". economictimes.indiatimes.com. 24 December 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Here's Why the Appointment of India's Second CDS Is Likely to Be Deferred for a While". thewire.in. 13 January 2022.
  16. ^ "CDS by January with Army Chief General Rawat Front Runner". raksha-anirveda.com. 21 November 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (Department of Defence) NOTIFICATION" (PDF). images.assettype.com. 6 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Lt Gen Anil Chauhan, former Army Commander, is new CDS". indianexpress.com. 29 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Why the Elevation of Lt Gen. Anil Chauhan as CDS Is Extraordinary". thewire.in. 29 September 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Gazette Notification – Chief of Defence Staff – Office, Tenure, Retirement Age etc". www.staffnews.in. 10 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Gen Naravane takes charge as Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee". www.business-standard.com. 16 December 2021.
  22. ^ "CDS of India, Significance, Roles and Responsibilities". www.pw.live. 9 February 2024.
  23. ^ a b c d "Swords, eagle, anchor: Gen Bipin Rawat to don new uniform as CDS". www.newindianexpress.com. 1 January 2020.
  24. ^ "General Bipin Rawat's official car bears new flag". www.aninews.in. 1 January 2020.
  25. ^ a b c d "Tri-services insignia, no lanyard – what new Chief of Defence Staff's uniform looks like". theprint.in. 31 December 2019.
  26. ^ Ranjan, Rajeev (31 December 2019). Nair, Arun (ed.). "General Bipin Rawat took over as Chief of Defence Staff, US Congratulates Him". NDTV. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, wife among 13 killed in chopper crash". The Economic Times. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Government appoints Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)" (Press release). PIB. 28 September 2022.

Further reading

Books
Think-tanks and journals
Articles

External links

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