Gen Bipin Rawat Appointed As Chief Of Defence Staff

In a historic decision, the Centre on Monday appointed Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

This is the first time that this position has been created by the central government and appointed General Rawat as the topmost defence officer of the country to be the main point of contact for the government for dealing with defence forces’ issues.

General Rawat is completing his full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff on December 31. He will now continue to serve till March 2022 as the CDS where his main role would be to create synergy in operations and finances of the three services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in his Independence Day speech on August 15.

He will be donning the parent service uniform, though with different Peak Cap and Shoulder Rank Badges in his new role.

The Indian Army in a series of tweets gave a peek into Rank badges and accoutrements of the CDS which it said reflect jointness.

“Chief of the Defence Staff #CDS on assumption of appointment will have his office in South Block. #CDS shall have parent Service uniform. Rank badges & accoutrements of #CDS reflect #Jointness,” the Indian Army said in a tweet.

General Rawat demitted the office of Army Chief today and will take over as CDS on January 1. The office of CDS will be in the South Block.

Lt General MM Naravane, who was previously the Vice Chief of Army Staff, succeeded General Rawat as the Chief of Army Staff.

The recommendation for CDS had first been made after the Kargil War. It was argued that this post will create better coordination between the three services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval played a crucial role along with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar to finalise the roles and responsibilities of the new office of the Chief of Defence Staff.

Rawat is credited for bringing the major transformation in the Army structure and turning it into a mean and mean fighting machine of the future.