CURRENT AFFIARS

APPOINTMENT OF THE CDS OF INDIA

The Chief Of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) coordinates the process of drawing up a panel of prospective candidates for the post of the Chief of Defence Staff.

The panel has candidates which are from all three services, which is then sent to the Defence Minister for approval.

Following the approval by the Defence Minister, the names are sent for consideration by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) which takes the final decision on the appointment of India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS

Founded on 1 January, 2020.

Department of Military Affairs is the department in charge of military matters within the Indian Ministry of Defence.

It is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), as its ex-officio Secretary.

The DMA provides integration between the armed forces of the Union and the Ministry of Defence.

Why are the other options incorrect ?

➡️ The Defence Minister is the Chancellor of India National Defence University (INDU) established in 2013. It is presided by a three-star ranking Army General.

➡️ The National Security Advisor (NSA) of India is the ex-officio chairman of the Defence Planning Committee, created in 2018.

➡️ The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile.

It was created on 4 January 2003 by the Vajpayee Government.

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) is commanded by the officer of Lieutenant General/Air Marshal/Vice Admiral rank.

The basic criteria for appointment of the CDS are simple :

1⃣ The CDS will be a four-star general from either the Army, the Air Force or the Navy.

2⃣ The government has to take a decision on the basis of merit-cum-seniority of the military officer.

3⃣ The person holding the post of CDS should not be older than 65.

The retirement age of the three service chiefs is 62 years. However, the CDS has no fixed term, may serve till the age of 65 years.

Thus, in terms of retirement age, the CDS is at par with the comptroller and auditor general (CAG), the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the central vigilance commissioner (CVC).

THE CDS AS "THE FIRST AMONGST THE EQUALS"

In the Order of Precedence, the CDS holds the same position as the three service chiefs, at no. 12, that is - Chiefs of Staff holding the rank of full General or equivalent rank.

The CDS will be higher in rank than the Chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, but will be paid a salary equal to the three service chiefs.

However, the CDS will not exercise any military command over the three service chiefs.

HISTORY OF CREATION OF CDS POST

General K. V. Krishna Rao proposed the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in June 1982.

However, officially, it was only following the Kargil Review Committee's recommendation in 1999, that the Group of Ministers (GoM) proposed the creation of the post of CDS in 2001.

The following committees, including the Naresh Chandra Task Force in 2012 and the Lt Gen D. B. Shekatkar Committee in 2016, also proposed their own versions of CDS.

As the CDS, India's top military officer has multiple roles to play. The CDS is :

1⃣ The Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Defence Ministry.

2⃣ The permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC)

3⃣ The Principal Advisor to the Defence Minister on tri-services matters.

The mandate of the CDS includes bringing about "jointness" in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance of the three services.