TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ The Union cabinet has approved the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and its charter and duties. The CDS will be a 4-star general who will head the new Department of Military Affairs. “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,” Minister Prakash Javadekar said at the cabinet briefing.
He will have all the powers like other secretaries, including financial. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the cabinet decision to approve the CDS calling it an “historic and major” decision towards bringing about “jointmanship” between the armed forces. “In a historic decision for ushering in reforms in the higher defence management in the country, the government has decided to create a post of Chief of Defence Staff and to create a Department of Military Affairs, within the Ministry of Defence,” Singh tweeted.
“The decision to create CDS is a major step towards bringing about jointmanship between the armed forces,” he said. 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 idea behind creating the CDS is that defence should not have a fragmented approach.
