To lead as well as govern any organisation, a deserving leader is required. Indian military forces are too having such persons. They are known in Army, Navy and Air force as General, Admiral and Air Chief Marshal respectively. Following are the current Chiefs of Indian defence forces.
Chief of Indian Army: General Dalbir Singh Suhag
Chief of Air Force: Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha
Chief of Navy: Admiral RK Dhowan
Recently, during a media conclave, our respected Defence minister Manohar Parrikar stated that “In the next two-three months, my (Cabinet) note with the recommendation will go to the right place (Cabinet committee on security) for the final decision,” It means that he with his team is working to create a permanent post of Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee (CoSC). Currently, this position is headed by the three service chiefs, with a fixed tenure of two-three years. According to him, India will soon get a four-star officer in addition to current Chiefs of three services as the team of defence minister Manohar Parrikar is working in this subject.
What is CoSC?
Chief of Staff Committee can be called as a forum, where the head of three services come together to discuss important matters related to any military issue or any task given by the ministry.
According to the current rule, the senior-most of three services acts as the ex-officio of CoSC till the time he retires. Earlier in 2012, Naresh Chandra Taskforce also suggested for the permanent post of CoSC, which is a diluted form of CDS post. If India is serious about national security and synergy, some serious actions needed to be taken.
Why India needs General no-1?
- All the three services co-ordinate with each other for different purposes. With the existence of one head of all three services, a better coordination and co-operative practices could be executed.
- The requirement of CDS(Chief of Defence Staff) is strongly recommended by successive committees including the Kargil Review Committee headed by K Subramanya .
- To provide single point military advice to government.
- Streamline long-term defence planning and procurement purpose.
- Integrate service Headquarters with the defence ministry.
This is all about India, but a similar post is present in many countries over the globe too. Around 70 countries including UK, US, France and Germany have a post similar to CDS for integration in military planning and operations. In US and France, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and CDS respectively are the highest ranking military officers and principal military advice to the President of their country.
According to the latest reports, the proposal to create a permanent post for CoSC is at an advanced stage of planning. With the creation of this post, all three service chiefs will be left independent to run their individual services.
There is an unknown fact in India that ‘Rules of Business’ of India Government adopted from the British, continue to treat Services Headquarters as “Attached Offices”.
Till Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar comes out with a permanent post, stay motivated with SSBCrack.
