Assumes charge as country’s first CDS

New Delhi, Jan 01

General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday formally assumed charge as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He was accorded with a Tri-Services Guard of Honour at the south block here.

Earlier, he paid tribute at the National War Memorial near India Gate.

The CDS will function as a single-point Adivsor to the government on matters related to the military and will provide better synergy among the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. On Tuesday, he completed his full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff.

Bipin Rawat said the armed forces stayed away from politics and worked as per the directives of the government, amid allegations that the forces were being politicised.

Laying down his tasks, General Rawat said they had to find ways of doing theatre commands without copying the Western models and strive for completing the jointness and integration of the services as mandated within the three-year timeline set by the government.

He inspected a tri-services guard of honour outside the South Block where the three service chiefs were present. The CDS will be the head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA). The three services will be under the DMA for matters of military like procurement, logistics, training, transport and maintenance

On being asked as to how will he complete the mandate of having theatre commands as the IAF, in the past, opposed it, General Rawat told the media, “There are methods of doing theatres, we need not copy the western system. We will work out a system of our own.”

When asked if India would retain its current 19 commands or merge them, the CDS said, “That is something we have to study. We will surely come up with a mechanism that suits the Indian system.”

On the government setting a three-year timeline for integration, is it possible to do it in three years or more time was needed, General Rawat said, “I will say it is possible. I cannot say we give up. The government has said three years, so we will strive to achieve it in three years.”

On the role of the CDS, he said, “I can assure that the Army, the IAF and the Navy will work as a team. The CDS will only keep control; it is not that the CDS will want to run a force on his own.”

On how he felt as CDS, the General pointed towards his new military cap saying, “I am wearing a peaked cap after 42 years. The last I wore this was when I passed out of the IMA. The Gorkha tilted hat is gone. This shows the CDS will remain neutral within the service and to all three services.”

The General said all three services could not work on the formula that the sum total of three energies translated into “only three”. The total of energies had to be much more, maybe five or seven, meaning multiplication, he added.

The forces, he said, had to have best economical use of resources as they focused on integration. “We can do training jointly. Procurement procedure can be made uniform.”