With the charter and role ready for the post of the Chief of Defence Staff, the announcement for the top military post is likely to be made soon. The charter for the functioning of CDS has a big focus on better utilisation of funds and more efficiency when it comes to procurement as well as better synergy among the three armed forces, sources said.
The CDS will be a single-point advisor to the government on all military matters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced in his address to the nation on Independence Day this year that a Chief of Defence Staff will be appointed by his government.
With respect to the three service chiefs, the CDS will be first among equals and would be a four-star officer. The CDS is likely to be just ahead in the protocol; the three service chiefs are also four-star officers.
The key areas of focus for the office of the CDS will be better planning and prioritizing funds for procurement for all the three armed forces. All the tri-service operations including newly made cyber, space and special forces commands are also expected to be under the office of the CDS.
In short, the idea behind having a CDS is to have more synergy in the functioning of the three services -- the Air Force, Navy and the Army.
While the chiefs will continue to head the operations for their respective forces, the CDS will have powers on tri-service administrative issues. Also, tri-service training -- an essential part of joint manship -- will come under the office of CDS, sources said.