The Indian government has formally announced the creation of the post of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). This appointment had been recommended by many committees, the most significant of which was the one after the Kargil operations against Pakistan. The CDS is expected to provide a single point of advice to the government on all tri-service matters and serve as the permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee. He will also head the Department of Military Affairs in the Ministry of Defence. The appointment is expected to provide synergy in the functioning of the three services and bring about better coordination in training and other capital acquisition plans.
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As India rises within the comity of nations as a major power in the 21 st century, mere use of 'soft power' may not be adequate. Judicious use of 'smart power' would be the key. However it is stymied by the Higher Defence Organisation (HDO) structure that is reminiscent of mid 20 th century. Despite adopting the euphemistic term, INTEGRATED HQ OF MINISTRY of DEFENCE (MOD) post Kargil War, based on the various committee reports, the MOD website belies the lexicon. The three Services do not form part of its organisational chart (see Fig 1 below), and continue to be attached HQs based on the Allocation of Business (AOB) / Transaction of Business (TOB) Rules 1961 (as amended from time to time). Fig 1 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART: MOD Such a situation does not augur well for a country expecting to be considered as a major power in the region. In a democracy civilian control over the military is essential-this implies political control and not bureaucratic control, especially over operational issues. To achieve this it is essential for the services to be a department of the MOD and be part of the policy making body. A strong triad of the political, military and bureaucracy is the sine-qua-non for achieving synergy to enable a focussed and holistic approach towards strategic military planning, future force structures and deployments, and force modernisation programmes. Despite having outstanding and dedicated officers in the bureaucracy, the MOD is inhibited by their lack of comprehension of matters military due to lack of exposure in this highly specialised field during their service. The expertise gained in other departments where they would have served, would
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The appointment of the Naresh Chandra Committee is an opportunity for India’s strategic community to engage in a long-overdue debate on our approach to national security. In this brief, the authors dwell on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) controversy by discussing a little-known letter written by India’s first Governor-General Mountbatten. In this letter, which is published along with this brief, Mountbatten claimed that Prime Minister Nehru was “no longer opposed to the idea of the CDS.” After discussing the historical relevance of this letter the authors discuss the current debate on the issue. Among other recommendations they urge current stakeholders, mainly the three Service Chiefs, to clearly articulate their views on this issue. The authors further, argue that the Naresh Chandra Committee must also ascertain the views of major political parties on the issue of the CDS. Ultimately, this is an opportunity to usher in the next generation of defence reforms.
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This monograph examines higher defence management and defence reforms in India. It deliberately coincides with Cabinet discussing the Report of Naresh Chandra Committee on defence reforms and aims to initiate a debate on higher defence management and civil-military relations. It includes papers by Air Marshal BD Jayal, General VP Malik and Admiral Arun Prakash. Their argument is two fold. First, the current system of higher defence management is dysfunctional and needs major reforms. Second, such reforms are only possible through political intervention and may be even legislative action. Anit Mukherjee introduces these papers and in conclusion suggests a roadmap to usher in the next generation of defence reforms.
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Despite being faced with myriad and complex challenges to national security, India's defence structures have not kept pace with changing times. The defence reforms that were undertaken periodically were reactive in nature and, in many cases, responses to crises as well as being sporadic, piecemeal and often ad hoc. The most recent review of security challenges undertaken occurred close to two decades ago, in the aftermath of the Kargil conflict of 1999. This was the Kargil Review Committee, and a subsequent Group of Ministers committee was appointed to study its report and suggest urgent measures for implementation of its suggestions, especially focussing on intelligence reforms, internal security, border management, and defence management. While many of the suggestions made by the Group of Ministers committee were accepted and have been implemented, a key reform-the establishment of the Chief of Defence Staff-is yet to see the light of day. Keeping in mind the necessity as well as the urgency of such reforms, this volume brings together practitioners as well as researchers on defence issues, on the key issue of defence reforms. The aim is not just to interrogate the status of reforms in current times but to also place the issue before a wider, interested readership. The 14 incisive chapters herein cover the broad spectrum of defence reforms and provide perspectives on similar reforms in other militaries, structural reforms, those dealing with budgets and procurement issues, and, finally, education and communication. The volume would be an indispensable guide to practitioners, scholars and researchers working on the area of defence and military studies, strategic and security studies, India's defence and security policies as well as to the informed reader.
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Indian Defence Review, Blog
I analyse India's CDS 2.0, the proposed Integrated Theatre Commands, challenges and prospects, and way ahead. This paper looks at the following, The drivers for change. The challenges. The way ahead: prospects.
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In July 2011, India appointed the Naresh Chandra Committee to re-visit the issue of defence reform. Addressing such fundamental problems as poor institutional knowledge, confused civil-military relations and a lack of inter-service and interagency co-ordination will help India to realise its ambitions on the world stage. However, the committee may find it difficult to define reforms that are acceptable to all of the principal actors: the military, politicians and civilian bureaucracy.
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