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Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS): An overview GS: 3 EMPOWER IA

 

Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS): An overview

 

Mains Q

 

Q) What is the office of Chief of Defence Staff recently announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced? Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) is considered a toothless office in India.

 

 

 

 

In news:

  • Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced, creation of the office of the chief of defence staff above the chiefs of the three forces for better coordination and efficiency.

 

Context:

  • Recommendation for chief of defence staff was made nearly two decades ago
  • Advance militaries such as the US and China have chief of defence staff
  • Both the US and China follow theatre command structure for better efficiency

 

What is the office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)?

  • The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services(Indian Army,Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy)
  • The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) is a toothless office in India.
  • It offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Prime Minister on long-term defence planning and management, including manpower, equipment and strategy, and jointsmanship in operations.
  • CDS would not only ensure coordination among various defence forces but will lead to enhanced security in the region.
  • The role of the CDS becomes critical in times of conflict.
  • The Chief of Defence Staff will also play the role of military advisor on important defense and strategic issues for the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the country.

 

Why had India not appointed a CDS until now?

  • India has had a feeble equivalent known as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC); but a toothless office in the manner of its structure.
  • The senior-most among the three Service Chiefs is appointed to head the CoSC, an office that lapses with the incumbent’s retirement.
  • The post did not further tri-service integration, resulting in inefficiency and an expensive duplication of assets.

 

When was CDS proposed?

  • The first proposal for a CDS came from the 2000 Kargil Review Committee (KRC).
  • The Group of Ministers Task Force that studied the KRC report proposed to the Cabinet Committee on Security that a CDS, a 5-star officer be created.
  • In preparation for the post, the government created the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) in late 2002
  • It eventually served as the CDS’s Secretariat but remained as a yet another nebulous department within the military establishment.

 

Need for Chief of Defence Staff

  • Incoherency: In general, the policy formulation is done by Defense Secretary, who is a bureaucrat, while its execution rests with Chiefs of armed forces. This makes defence policy incoherent.
  • Modern Warfare: The emergence of modern warfare domains like Space, Cyber etc, requires a more integrated approach to defense strategy.
  • group of ministers that was formed in 2001 to explore necessary reforms required to improve India's national security had also favoured creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff.
  • In 2012 Naresh Chandra task force recommended the appointment of a permanent chairman of chiefs of staff committee.
  • The permanent chairman of chiefs of staff committee is the senior most of the three Chiefs.
  • The CDS is also one of the 99 recommendations made by the Lt. General D.B. Shekatkar (retd.) committee (2016)

 

Issues in the Current System in India

  • The higher defense management in India is currently along the lines of the Joint Chief of Staff model of the USA, with the senior most chief (Army, Navy and Air force) appointed as Chairman JSOC. The Defense Secretary acts as an interface between the armed forces and the political executive.
  • The Armed Forces are still considered as "Attached Offices" of the Ministry of Defense and it is the Defense Secretary who is responsible for the defense of the country. This invariably leads to greater gap between the civilian and military bureaucracy
  • It’s the Defense Secretary who represents India in all professional forums and acts as the adviser to the Raksha Mantri, consequently depriving the political executive of the expert advice of the service Chiefs.
  • India is the only country with an MoD sans military professionals, with bureaucrats lacking a military background and knowledge ruling the roost, hiding their ineptitude and incompetence in their respective cocoons and without accountability, making money through scams and appeasing their political bosses.
  • The problem with the existing separate military headquarters is that there is a turf war between the three wings with each seeing things with its own perspective and requirement.

 

Benefits of having CDS:

  • It will provide effective leadership at the top level to the three wings of the armed forces.
  • Lead to greater coordination and synergy among the tri services.
  • Help in the tackling of threats from cyber and space sector in an integrated manner and would help in optimal use of available resources.
  • Policy-making on operations, procurement and joint logistics will be improved.
  • It will provide a single, all-encompassing coherent and cohesive perspective, instead of disaggregated individual single service perspective.
  • This will correct the anomaly of civic-military interface during the shaping/ deterrence phase, during operations, or after the occurrence of threatening situations.
  • It would help in holistic management of national security for single point military advice on matters of national security including nuclear weapons.

 

Challenges that CDS will face:

    • Balancing national interests
    • shedding own service affiliations
    • and looking after the interests of all the three services will always be a tough act
    • India currently faces multiple security challenges
    • India’s security landscape has been naturally dominated by the Indian Army
    • Balancing this reality with a realisation that both maritime and air power are going to play an increasingly important role in India’s rise as a leading power
    •  laying the road map for time-bound integration
    • attaining a seamless integration of the MoD with service headquarters
    • assuming the operational responsibilities for all tri-service commands and agencies
    • Steering the creation of integrated battle groups for various contingencies as a precursor to validating the concept of theatre commands.
    • Achieving inter-services synergy

 

Way ahead:

  • Political awareness necessary to engage with diverse stakeholders.
  • As seen from the Western experience, this will happen only after years of joint-service assignments, an exposure to working with government and educational interludes in a military career.

 

Conclusion:

India is the only country with a MoD without military professionals, with bureaucrats lacking a military background and knowledge. As a result, we lack a cohesive national security strategy; national security objectives remain undefined.  The post of CDS would help in holistic management of national security for single point military advice on matters of national security including nuclear weapons.

 

Source)

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/soldier-number-one-on-creation-of-cds-post/article29161059.ece?homepage=true