Five things you need to know about Chief of Defence Staff

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General Bipin Rawat will take over as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on Tuesday and head the newly created department of military affairs. He will be the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all matters related to the tri-services. Gen Rawat takes over as CDS after serving as Army chief for three years.

Here are five things you need to know about the CDS:

1. As CDS, Gen Rawat will have the same salary and perquisites as the three service chiefs (who are also four-star Generals). Apart from heading the department of military affairs, he will also hold the charge of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee (CoSC).

2. Experts say the principal challenge for the country’s first CDS will be to integrate the armed forces into the government edifice to enable them to participate fully in decision-making. Another key responsibility would be to facilitate the restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations.

3. The creation of a CDS was suggested almost two decades ago by the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) in February 2000. The KRC, headed by K Subrahmanyam, recommended the appointment of a CDS as a means to provide single-point professional military advice to the political leadership.

4. The government has said while the CDS will act as the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all tri-services matters, the three service chiefs will continue to advise the minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective services. The department of military affairs will focus on promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the tri-services.

5. A gazette notification issued on Saturday set 65 as the maximum serving age for the CDS. It puts the post on par with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) in terms of the retirement age. The three service chiefs end their term after three years of service or when they turn 62, whichever is earlier.