Part 3

Is India ready for a CDS?

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Now for that big question: Who will be the chief of defence staff, this super military officer?

And what are the changes that are being introduced in the ministry of defence?

The Group of Ministers headed by Union Minister L K Advani, which approved the Arun Singh Committee recommendations, has submitted its report to the Cabinet.

rediff.com's discussions with defence officials, bureaucrats, politicians and experts reveal that the reforms, which aims at integrating the services into the ministry and nullifying civilian control, may not happen in toto.

"They have not recommended anything that is very sweeping in that sense," says a senior bureaucrat. "But there are definite steps, including the creation of CDS, that are expected to be implemented in the next few months."

Also, the CDS may not turn out be the super commander like the one the United States has in its Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He will, quite probably, have no operational responsibilities or any say in the day-to-day affairs of the services.

Again, the restructuring would not make the civilian bureaucracy vanish completely. The defence secretary would still be the civilian advisor to the government. Which, in other words, means that his bureaucrats would continue to be powerful in purchases and certain policy matters.

Here's Josy Joseph's take on how the proposal looks like:

Chief of Defence Staff

HE will be the principal military advisor to the government. Will be appointed from among the senior-most three-star officers of the three services (lieutenant generals, air marshals and vice admirals). The three chiefs would also appointed from among this pool of officers.

The CDS need not necessarily be one of the service chiefs, "He may be, he may not be," says an official involved in the restructuring exercise. "The option is with the government."

Rediffcolumnist Major General (retd) Ashok Mehta, for his part, says the CDS will not be appointed from among the chiefs. Mehta, who has an admirable network in the present establishment, says the first CDS will be appointed only after Admiral Sushil Kumar, present the head of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, retires.

The CDS will be the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which now comprises the three chiefs.

The new Chiefs of Staff Committee will have five members -- the CDS, the three service chiefs and a member secretary, who will be the vice-CDS, who will look after the day-to-day co-ordination between services. He will represent the CDS in all the boards of the ministry.

Some powers that the defence chiefs currently exercise will be transferred to the CDS. Force development responsibility -- planning how the services should emerge in the future -- will be among the CDS's key responsibilities.

Operational responsibilities -- war, for instance, of counterinsurgency operations -- will continue with the chiefs.

The CDS will prioritise the acquisition demands of the three services and link the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the government.

"For the first time there would be inter-service comparison of capabilities and requirements. At present the minister is flooded with individual requests and he in his wisdom decides what needs to be given first preference," an official comments.

Intelligence

THIS will be another key function of the CDS. The intelligence agencies of the three services will be brought under him through a planned merger.

Reporting to the CDS will be a director-general of Joint Intelligence, under whom the chiefs of the three intelligence wings will function. These chiefs will be designated as the additional director general, Military Intelligence, ADG Naval Intelligence and ADG Air Force Intelligence.

"At present there is very little sharing of information between the Military Intelligence, Naval Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence," points out a senior Army officer who played a crucial role in Arun Sigh Committee.

Integrated Command

THE Arun Singh Committee has recommended that the Naval command at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which has elements of the Army and Air Force, be strengthened and converted into a full-fledged tri-service organisation.

This command, the Committee says, should be handed over to the CDS. "Experience of the tri-service command at Andaman should help the CDS in establishing combined commands in the future," says a senior official.

The proposal is to set up tri-service commands all over the country, making India's defence operations similar to that of the US Unified Combatant Commander.

"That would happen only after a review [of the Andaman command] some five years down the line," sources say.

"Today we have a total of 16 [7 I of the IAF, six of the Army and three of the Navy] commands belonging to the three services. It should shrink to five or six unified commands," officials associated with the Arun Singh Committee say.

For example, instead of separate southern commands for Navy, Air Force and Army, it will become "a unified Southern Command." The combined command could be under a three-star general from any of the three services.

"When all commands become integrated, the CDS will become the operational chief. That might happen in a decade or 15 years," says a senior government functionary.

Once that is achieved, the chiefs of individual services will become the chief advisors to the government for their respective services, with responsibilities of training, administration and welfare.

Chiefs of Staff Committee under the CDS will also become the recommending authority for appointing command chiefs of the unified command.

The CDS will be responsible for joint operations and training.

Rank and Protocol

In protocol, the CDS will be equal to the cabinet secretary, as will be the service chiefs. But on ceremonial occasions the CDS will be the first among the four. He would be a four-star general like the service chiefs.

The CDS will have the same retirement age as the service chiefs: 62 years. And he will have a minimum tenure of at least two years.

Sources also indicated that the CDS would be appointed not depending on any particular pattern. However, a specific recommendation of the Arun Singh committee is that if the CDS is not from Army, the vice-CDS should be from Army, consider that wing's importance.

Major Gen (retired) Ashok Mehta believes that the CDS will be "appointed on a rotational basis from the three services".

Vice-Chief of Defence Staff

THE VCDS will head the secretariat of the CDS. "He will be the co-ordinator between the three services and the ministry." He will also represent the CDS in all the boards and corporations of the defence ministry.

The VCDS would be a three-star general or equivalent. He would be drawn from the pool of seven/eight senior-most officers in the three services.

"It will be the CDS, under the day-to-day coordination of VCDS, which will ensure that the defence budget doesn't go waste and resources are used to the fullest," points out an official. In the last financial year over Rs 40 billion had to be returned.

Procurement Board

THE Arun Sigh committee also recommends the setting up of a procurement board, under which a new department will integrate civilian officials, financial advisors and service personnel.

"At the top will be the board which will have nominees from the three services, and it will be headed by the defence secretary," sources say.

The board will draw recommendations from the CDS on major acquisitions.

Financial Powers

Sweeping changes in the financial powers of the three service headquarters. The revenue expenditure should be completely handed over to the three services, the Arun Singh committee recommends.

Financial advisors will be appointed to each service for carrying out expenses. At present, almost 70 per cent of the defence budget is revenue expenditure -- salary, allowances, maintenance etc. Under the existing arrangement, most decisions on revenue expenditure is taken by civilian officials.

"Delegation of routine financial powers to the service headquarters will ensure optimum man power utilisation," says a senior official.

Watch this space Monday for the last part of this series.

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