Gen Naravane takes over as CSC chairman

New Delhi: Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has taken over the charge as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC) as a stop-gap arrangement. Naravane, who is the senior-most among the three service chiefs, will continue to head CSC till the post of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is filled.

CSC includes IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Air Marshal Balabhadra Radha Krishna and Navy Chief Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar who had taken over their respective positions on September 30 and November 30.

After the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat, the Indian governmentfor the time being has adopted the old system of CSC. Under this system, the senior-most among the three service chiefs is appointed as chairman of the CSC to ensure coordination among the three forces.

After the creation of the post of Chief of the Defence Staff, the post of CSC was abolished, but now it has been revived on a temporary basis.

The post of the CDS fell vacant following the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash on December 8, who was appointed as the first CDS of India. In December 2019, the post of CDS was created as the head of defence forces of the country.

The CDS also heads the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) as its secretary. Under the new arrangement, the Air Marshal who is also the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, will report to Gen Naravane. Air Marshal will act as Deputy Chief of Defence Staff.

Additional secretary Lt Gen Anil Puri looks after the work of the secretary of DMA. In December 2019, DMA was constituted as the fifth department of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to frame policies on security-related matters. The other four departments are the Department of Defence, the Department of Defence Production, the Department of Defence Research and Development, the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.