Kamat, who was Director General, Naval Systems & Materials, at the DRDO succeeded Dr G Satheesh Reddy, who has been named as scientific adviser to the defence minister.

Kamat has been appointed to the post till he attains the age of 60 years or until further orders.

Dr. Kamat completed his B. Tech (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1985 and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, USA in 1988 and joined DRDO in 1989.

Dr. Kamat has provided leadership and direction to several critical materials programmes in DRDO such as development of high strength steels for naval ship hulls, development of high temperature titanium alloys and nickel base superalloy based components for aeroengines,development of tungsten heavy alloys for kinetic energy penetrators, development of fused silica radomes for missile seekers, development of armour solutions for personnel as well as combat vehicles and stealth materials for airborne and naval applications. These have found use in various systems being developed by DRDO laboratories.

In addition, he has spearheaded the development of naval systems such as advanced light weight torpedo, anti-torpedo decoy systems, autonomous underwater vehicles, advanced hull mounted and towed array sonars for ships and fuel cells based air independent propulsion systems for submarines.

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Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasala, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the erstwhile College of Naval warfare, Karanja and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi. The Flag Officer is a specialist in Anti-Submarine Warfare and has commanded IN Ships Nashak (Missile Vessel), Magar {Landing Ship Tank (Large)} and Talwar (Frigate). His shore commands include Commandant, National Coast Guard, Mauritius during 2003 to 2005 and Commandant, Naval Academy and Commanding Officer, INS Mandovi, Goa during 2007 to 2009. He has the rare distinction of commanding the Indian Naval Academy twice, albeit at different locations and in different ranks.

 His important Staff appointments include Staff Officer (ASW) at the Local Workup Team (West), Joint Director at Directorate of Personnel at Naval Headquarters, Naval Advisor to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Senior Directing Staff at the Naval War College, Mumbai and Principal Director Staff Requirements at Naval Headquarters.

On promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral in February 2015, he was appointed as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resources Development), and thereafter as the Flag Officer Sea Training wef October 2016. He subsequently Commanded the Western Fleet as the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Fleet from January 2018 to March 2019.

On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral on 27 March 19, the Flag officer assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations, prior being appointed as the eighth Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala.

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An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Chaudhari was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on December 29, 1982.

In a distinguished career spanning nearly 38 years, the officer has flown a wide variety of fighter and trainer aircraft in the inventory of IAF. He has a flying experience of more than 3,800 hours, including operational flying on MiG-21, MiG-23 MF, MiG 29 and Su-30 MKI fighter jets.

Air Marshal Chaudhari held numerous important positions. He was the commanding officer of a frontline fighter squadron and has also commanded a frontline fighter base. As an Air Marshal, he held the position of Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.

Air Marshal Chaudhari was also involved in the Rafale acquisition programme. He was serving as senior air staff officer in Eastern Air Command before assuming the charge of the Delhi-headquartered Western Command.

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The appointment of the CDS, perhaps the most significant reform in top military management in India, pending for almost two decades after the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) recommended it, is a major reform in India’s higher defence management.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) also approved the report of a high-level committee, headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, which finalised responsibilities and the enabling framework for the CDS. Union information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said during the Cabinet briefing, “He will be drawing a salary equivalent to service chiefs, and will head the Department of Military Affairs to be created under the Ministry of Defence. He will function as its Secretary,”.

The Union Cabinet also approved the charter and duties of the CDS. He will be a 4-star general who will have all the powers like other secretaries, including financial.

The CDS will be first among equals among Service chiefs. However, in the list of protocol, the CDS will be higher than the service chiefs.

Questions Over Seniority

The CDS that has emerged from does not command, is not even in-chargeof the three Services – the army, navy and air force, “so as to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.”

Appointing the CDS to a “secretary” post is being seen as a creative bypass to the contentious question of the CDS’s precedence and seniority. The three Service chiefs are currently senior to the defence secretary. Designating the CDS a “secretary”, on par with the defence secretary, amounts to a downgrade.

Main Tasks

The CDS will act as a single-point military adviser to the prime minister and defence minister on key defence and strategic issues.

The new post is aimed at revamping the functioning of the armed forces, including removal of “obsolete practices”, augmenting combat capabilities and rationalisation of facilities.

The main task of the CDS will be to ensure ‘jointmanship’ among the three Services. This will include powers to work on setting up few theatre commands as well as allocating military assets among the services to synergise their operations. At present, the three services coordinate their work under the framework of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), which will be subsumed into the new structure after appointment of the CDS.

Mandate for the CDS includes creation of theatre commands, which will be tri-services joint commands. The CDS has been given a tight three-year schedule to show results in creating jointness among the three Services in operations, training, logistics, maintenance, repair, communications and support services. At present, the three Services have their own separate streams for all such matters, thus increasing the cost of procurement and day-to-day expenses.

The government has tasked the CDS to ensure optimal utilisation of infrastructure. Evaluation of “out of area” plans, enhancing use of indigenous equipment and prioritising weapon and equipment procurement of each service as per available budget, will be done by the CDS.

The most crucial function of CDS will be to assign inter-services prioritisation to capital acquisition proposals of Army, Navy and Air Force based on the anticipated budget and will work to reduce wasteful expenditure. CDS will enable the armed forces to implement co-ordinateddefence doctrines and procedures and to foster cohesion among the three services.

The CDS will also be the permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, which has the three Service chiefs as its members. Until now, the chairmanship of the CoSC was held in rotation by the senior-most service chief for short periods and the arrangement was found to be unsatisfactory.

Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only tri-service theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces based at Port Blair. It is likely to continue to remain under the COSC. The tri-service agencies commands related to cyber and space will be under the CDS. In other tri-services units, the chief of the lead force will hold operational charge.

The CDS will act as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister on tri-services matters. The three Service chiefs will continue to advise the defence minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective forces.

The CDS will be barred from holding any government post after his retirement. And no private employment will be permitted for five years after demitting office.

CDS will implement five-year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and two-year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow-up of the Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP). The CDS will be a member of the Defence Planning Committee chaired by the National Security Adviser (NSA).

Background

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 appointment of a CDS as a single-point military adviser to the defence minister. A group of ministers (GoM) analysing required reforms in the national security system had also favoured appointing a CDS.

In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Task force had recommended creating the post of a permanent chairman of the COSC.

The appointment of a CDS was one of the most significant recommendations made by the K Subrahmanyam-led KRC that was constituted in the immediate aftermath of the 1999 KargilWar to examine lapses that allowed Pakistani soldiers to occupy strategic heights, the initial sluggish Indian response, and suggest measures to strengthen national security. The KRC report was tabled in Parliament in February 2000.

The KRC recommended the creation of a CDS as a means to provide single-point professional military advice to the political leadership and to also achieve synergy in the working of the three forces. The KRC was perhaps the most comprehensive look at the systemic failures that allowed the Pakistanis to occupy the strategic heights of Kargil.

A year later, in February 2001, a GoM, under then home minister LK Advani, submitted its report to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The GoM was set up in April 2000 to review the national security system against the backdrop of the KRC recommendations. It recommended that a CDS be appointed. But the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decided that the appointment of a CDS be taken up later after holding talks with different political parties.

Successive governments failed to build political consensus on appointing a CDS for almost two decades. The complete overhaul of India’s intelligence set-up and the creation of a younger and fitter army were among the most significant changes made by the government on the basis of recommendations of the KRC.

Some steps have been taken to improve jointness among the three services during the last two decades such as the creation of the HQ of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and the raising of India’s first tri-service command – the Andaman and Nicobar Command. Created 18 years ago, the IDS is a single-point organisation for jointmanship that integrates policy, doctrine, war-fighting and military purchases.

However, prime minister Narendra Modi, on 15 August 2019, announced the creation of the new post.

==

Gen Bipin Rawat,

PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC

Chief of Defence Staff

General Bipin Rawat assumed office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on 1 January 2020. As the CDS, General Rawat will be the Principal Military Advisor to the defence minister on all Tri-Services matters. He will also head Department of Military Affairs (DMA). The CDS will have a key role in ensuring optimum utilisation of allocated budget, usher in more synergy in procurement, training & operations of the Services through joint planning and integration. The CDS will facilitate indigenisation of weapons and equipment to the maximum extent possible while formulating the overall defence acquisition plan for the three Services.

On taking over, General Rawat vowed to work to create more synergy among the three Services.

Former Chief of of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Higher Command and National Defence College. He also attended the Command and General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth in the United States.

During his distinguished career in the Army, General Rawat commanded an Infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector, a Rashtriya Rifles Sector, an Infantry Division in the Kashmir Valley and a Corps in the North East. General Rawat had also commanded a Multinational Brigade in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force. As an Army Commander, he commanded a theatre of operations along the Western Front and was appointed the Vice Chief of the Army Staff before assuming office of Chief of the Army Staff.

During the span of over 41 years in the Army, General Rawat has been awarded several gallantry and distinguished service awards.

==

What are CDS’s Powers and Responsibilities?

In rank and salary, Gen Bipin Rawat will remain the equal of the army, navy and air force chiefs, with the government having notified the CDS in “the rank of a four-star general with salary and perquisites equivalent to a service chief.” He is not the commander of all three Services – army, navy and air force. However, hewill also be the ex officio “Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee” (PC-COSC) – a body that includes all three service chiefs.

The government has specifically stated: “CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three service chiefs.”

In rank, precedence and salary, Gen Rawat – like the three service chiefs – will be senior to the defence secretary, since service chiefs are the seniority equivalent of the cabinet secretary. Traditionally, the defence secretary, who heads the department of defence (DoD), enjoys greater importance than the MoD’s other four secretaries – who head the department of defence procurement (DDP), defence research and development (Defence R&D), ex-servicemen’s welfare (DESW) and defence finance (DDF). In the Allocation of Business Rules, the defence secretary is responsible for the “defence of India”.

Though the defence secretary has shed many of his responsibilities to the DMA, he retains responsibility for the defence of India and for making “defence policy”. He also remains responsible for all capital procurements from the defence budget. It is likely that, while the CDS will be nominally senior to the defence secretary, the latter will remain more influential.

As CDS, Gen Rawat can improve tri-service coordination and economise by eliminating duplication of military resources and facilities. He can also improve the military’s operational readiness by prioritising procurement of more urgently needed equipment. However, he can only list and prioritise requirements; the capital budget will be handled by the defence secretary.

The government has formally given the CDS the task of “restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands.”This would greatly improve the operational posture of the three services and create a culture of integrated tri-service operations. However, there is deep institutional resistance to creating theatre commands, especially from the air force.

The CDS will not be a single point military advisor to the government. The CDS notification states he “will act as the principal military adviser to Raksha Mantri (RM) on all tri-services matters. The three chiefs will continue to advise RM on matters exclusively concerning their respective services.” This is against Services ethos. It defangs the CDS’s opinion.

As head of the new “Department of Military Affairs” (DMA) in the MoD, the CDS will oversee substantive matters relating to the three Services, including promotions, postings and foreign assignments. This will translate into enormous power.

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He also said the Army will enhance combat capabilities along the border with China so that it is fully prepared to deal with any security challenge. “The threat remains from both northern and western sides. Over the last many years, we have been concentrating on our western borders while our northern border was at a little lower in priority. There was a need to rebalance and reprioritise,” he said.

Giving a detailed brief on India’s security challenges, including combating cross-border terrorism, Gen Naravane said a strategy of “resolute punitive response” was put in place to deal with Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, noting that the policy of “zero tolerance” will continue to drive counter-terror measures.

“If Pakistan does not stop its policy of state-sponsored terrorism, we reserve the right to preemptively strike at the sources of terror threat and this intent has adequately been demonstrated in our response during surgical strikes and Balakot operation,” the Army Chief said.

“A new normal in our response mechanism has been emphatically underlined,” he added.

Talking about the situation in Kashmir, Gen Naravane said it has improved significantly after abrogation of Article 370. “Incidents of violence are coming down. The terrorists-initiated actions have come down. There is no doubt that there is a lot of improvement,” he said.

“However, the problem remains. It has not gone away. So, we will always be ready whatever measures are required to deal with the challenges there,” he said.

Pak-sponsored Terrorism

“We are better prepared,” said Naravane, adding that the Army is “fully prepared to meet any eventuality” along the volatile Line of Control with Pakistan, which has witnessed as many as 3,200 ceasefire violations this year to beat all annual records since 2003.

“Our neighbour uses terrorism as tool of state policy, as a way of carrying out proxy war against us, while maintaining deniability. However, this state can’t last long. As they say, you can’t fool all the people, all the time,” Naravane said.

Gen Naravane said the Pakistan Army’s “all out efforts” to deflect attention from state-sponsored terrorism has been a total failure and that its proxy war design has received a major setback due to elimination of terrorists and decimation of terror networks by Indian forces. “Multiple options across the spectrum of conflict are on the table to respond to any act of terror sponsored or abetted by Pakistan,” he said.

Gen Naravane said Pakistan tried to draw global attention following India’s decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir, but its efforts did not get any traction.

There has been “a definite improvement” in the internal security situation in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370, with the “proxy war” being waged from across the border suffering a major setback due to elimination of terrorists and terror networks. “The incidents of violence in J&K have seen a marked decline, this augurs very well for population of J&K. It’s a step forward towards bringing peace and prosperity to the region,” he said.

Referring to the rising number of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), he said it is being done to keep alive the Kashmir issue.

India-China Border

On security challenges along the 3,500-km border with China, Gen Naravane said: “We will continue to improve capability building along the northern border so we are prepared when the need arises.”

Modernisation

According to Gen Naravane, the bottomline for reforms in the Army will be to increase efficiency and operational readiness. “Modernisation is a continuous process. Whatever we are doing, the start point is to increase efficiency and operational readiness,” he said.

On the CDS

The new chief said the appointment of the CDS would significantly transform the way the military operates and bring about important tri-services reforms.

The appointment of Gen Bipin Rawat as India’s first chief of defence staff (CDS) is seen as the most significant change in top military management in the country and would require the CDS to strike a delicate balance with the three chiefs to strengthen cross-service cooperation and build consensus.

Gen MM Naravane, Chief of the Army Staff

Gen MM Naravane did his schooling at Dnyan Prabodhinee Prashala, Pune. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned into the 7th Battalion, The Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, in June 1980. He is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Higher Command Course, Mhow. He holds a Master’s Degree in Defence Studies, M. Phil Degree in Defence and Management Studies and is currently pursuing a Doctorate degree.

In a distinguished military career spanning almost four decades, Gen Naravane has the distinction numerous command and staff appointments in peace and field areas both in the North East and Jammu & Kashmir and has been part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka during ‘Operation Pawan’.

He has commanded 2nd Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles (Sikh Light Infantry), 106 Infantry Brigade, Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) at Kohima, Nagaland and 2 Corps. On staff, he was a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade, Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General (AA&QMG) of HQ Establishment No 22, Defence Attache at Yangon, Myanmar, an instructor in the Army War College as Directing Staff in the Higher Command Wing, besides serving two tenures at the Army HQ.

Gen Naravane commanded the Republic Day Parade in 2017 as General Officer Commanding (GOC) Delhi Area. After successfully commanding the Army Training Command, Shimla, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command on 1 October 2018. He took over as the 28th Chjief pof the Army Staff on 31 December and will serve for two years and four months.

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