Chief of Defence Staff gets Cabinet nod

New Delhi : The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Chief of Defence Staff's (CDS) post 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," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said during the Cabinet briefing.

He will have all the powers like other secretaries, including financial. 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 of creating the CDS' post is that India should not have a fragmented approach. "Our entire military power will have to work in unison.

All the three (services) should move simultaneously at the same pace," said a senior government official. The CDS was planned after looking into the changing nature of warfare, security environment and national security challenges.

The aim is to bring about jointness between the armed forces of the country in training, procurement, staffing and operations, to enhance the quality of military advice given to the political leadership through integration of service inputs, and to develop and foster expertise in military affairs.

"The CDS will work exclusively with military matters that fall within the purview of the Department of Military Affairs.

The Department of Defence will deal with larger issues pertaining to defence of the country," the official said.

Now, the armed forces will fall under the ambit of Department of Military Affairs, which will have appropriate expertise to manage military affairs.