Amendment of rules for the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff

In News 

• The Ministry of Defence has issued three separate notifications amending the rules of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force for the appointment of the next Chief of Defence Staff CDS.

Major points of amendment

• The government amended the Army Rules, 1954; the Naval Ceremonial, Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Regulations, 1963; and the Air Force Regulations, 1964 to add that the “Central Government may, if considered necessary, in public interest, so to do, appoint as Chief of Defence Staff, an officer” who is serving as Lieutenant General, Vice Admiral, Air Marshal or General, Admiral, Air Chief Marshal “or an officer who has retired” from these ranks, “but has not attained the age of sixty-two years on the date of his appointment.” 
• It said the government may extend the service of the CDS for such a period as it may deem necessary subject to a maximum age of 65.
  • This means that all Lt Generals in the Army and equivalent officers in the Navy and Air Force, who retired after June 2020, are under consideration.

Expected Implications of move 

• It throws open the field of potential candidates because the government can look beyond the serving officers.
• But this can be tricky given that the serving chiefs, who are four-star officers, will have to report to a retired three-star officer if he is named CDS.

About CDS

• A high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in India’s security system in the wake of the Kargil war in 1999 had recommended the appointment of the CDS as a single-point military adviser to the defence minister.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of the post of the CDS during his Independence Day speech in 2019.
• The post has been vacant since December 2021, and some of the work has since slowed down, or stalled. 
• Mandate 
  • The mandate of the CDS, as the primary military advisor to the government, also includes creating jointness among the armed forces, creation of integrated theatre commands, and prioritising capital acquisition for the modernisation of the forces. 
  • It was created as a dual-hatted role, since the CDS was also appointed as Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs
  • Another key mandate of the CDS was to facilitate the restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of theatre commands.

Source :IE