Indian MoD Wants Forces’ Chief Of Defense Staff

Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar  said that he is working out a mechanism for the creation of a post of Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) with a fixed tenure in order to integrate the three services.

Parrikar said that he will recommend the mechanism in 2-3 months. He emphasized on integrating the defense forces and said, “It is important to move away from the thinking of ‘we’ and ‘they’ between the MoD and the three services.”

"Integration has to be there and creation of the post of Chief of Defense Staff is a must. How do you work it out? Give me some time and I will work it out because the three forces' integration does not exist in the present structure," Parrikar said at the India Today conclave Today.

According to Parrikar, the force integration and requirement integration will help in saving funds. With overlapping, a number of items that are to be procured will reduce. The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Giving an example of a situation where a helicopter is needed, the Minister said the protocol for the air force and army for the same is different.

"More or less, in the next 2-3 months, my recommendation will get to the right place," he said when asked about a time-line.

At present, India has a Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee which Parrikar described as "virtually a figure head".

He said CDS should be able to have discussion with all three Services and be able to work out specific requirements and needs.