As India loses its very first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday in an unfortunate chopper crash, the country is faced with multiple challenges. The greatest challenge of all is the appointment of the next CDS who will be expected to take over Gen Rawat's responsibility to make the Indian military modern and capable of dealing with any emerging security challenges on the Northern or Western borders.
Key Points:
1. As per media reports, the Union government is likely to make the appointment of the next CDS in a week's time and no specific rules for the selection of the CDS. The decision-making will primarily be done by the government keeping in mind the border security challenges.
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2. Any commanding officer of either of the three services, Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy, is eligible for being appointed as the next CDS. The government is likely to take the final decision based on the merit-cum-seniority of the military officer. The person assigned to the role of CDS should not be older than 65.
3. Indian Army chief General MM Naravane is at present the senior-most officer in the military after General Bipin Rawat. His term as the Indian Army chief ends in April 2022. The other two service chiefs, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhary and Admiral R Hari Kumar are relatively new in their positions. The IAF chief was appointed on September 30 and the Chief of Naval Staff was appointed on November 30, both this year.
4. The role of CDS was created to provide synergy among the three services of the Indian Defence forces, Army, Navy and Air Force and it plays a crucial role in the current military structure of the country by the Modi government.
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5. The first CDS was tasked with bringing reforms in the armed forces and played a vital role in the unification of the tri-services. Given his experience of handling tough situations in both the eastern and western sectors as the Indian Army chief, he was given the duty of being the first CDS in January 2020.
