During the Independence Day speech at Red Ford today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a major announcement - the country will now have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will head the three defence forces. The Prime Minister said the CDS would ensure synergy among the three services and provide effective leadership to them. "Our government has decided to have a Chief of Defence Staff- CDS," Modi said in his address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of India's 73rd Independence Day.
"Our forces are India's pride. To further sharpen coordination between the forces, I want to announce a major decision from the Red Fort: India will have a Chief of Defence Staff- CDS. This is going to make the forces even more effective," said the PM during his address.
While a new development, the creation of the CDS was called for around 20 years ago. A high-level committee set up to examine the gaps in the country's security system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999 had called for the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff as a single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister.
A group of ministers analysing required reforms in the national security system had also favoured appointing a Chief of Defence Staff. In 2012 too, the Naresh Chandra Task Force had recommended creating the post of a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. The CoSC comprises chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force and the senior-most among them acts as its chairman as per existing norm.
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