New Delhi
Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has been named as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff. General Rawat was named the Chief of Defence Staff just a day before he was to retire from service after completeing a full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff.
General Rawat is the first officer to hold the post of the Chief of Defence Staff, which was set up just days ago. The CDS will function as a single-point adivsor to the government on matters related to the military and will focus on better synergy between the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
General Bipin Rawat was the front-runner for the post.
An alumnus of the St. Edward School, Shimla, the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, General Bipin Rawat is from a Gorkha regiment. According to his profile on the Indian Army’s website, General Rawat has commanded an infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector, an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley and a corps in the Northeast.
General Rawat was appointed the Chief of Army Staff on December 31, 2016 and was to retire tomorrow. However, he will continue his service now as the Chief of Defence Staff.
CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF
The announcement of the name of India’s Chief of Defence Staff was made months after PM Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, promised that his government would establish the top military post.
PM Modi’s Independence Day assurance fulfilled a long-pending recommendation that a single-point military advisor be appointment to advise the government on all matters related to the military. The recommendation was first made by a committee that examined the military’s performance during the 1999 Kargil conflict.
