What changed in the army after General Bipin Rawat became the first Chief of Defense Staff?

Do you know what happened on 15 December 2015?

Only few people will know this. Hardly any help from Google search. I tried it

But still no one can take the importance of this day in India’s military history.

There was a spectacular display of military power in the warm waters of the Arabian Ocean, fifty kilometers west of Kochi in Kerala. 60 combat aircraft, thirty warships and five submarines were together.

And at the center of all this was India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. It was the host of the first Combined Commanders Conference (CCC). In this annual conference, the Indian political leadership discusses with the top commanders of the Army, Air Force and Navy.

This was the first Combined Commanders’ Conference held outside Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed it when the time came.

‘Jointness at the top is a need that is long overdue. The top leadership of the military should have experience of the three armies. We also need to improve senior positions in defense management. It is sad that many proposals to improve defense have not been implemented till now.

On the same day last year, PM Modi started the biggest process to correct what he thought was wrong. And he did this by announcing the post of Chief of Defense Staff.

On 24 December 2019, the Union Cabinet approved this proposal. Six days later, the then Army Chief Bipin Rawat was announced to be appointed as the first CDS.

But the appointment is not as important as the powers given by the government to the post and the rules under which the person sitting on the post has to work.

Purna Naval Chief General Sunil Lanba, who was among the signatories to the note that was made to constitute the post of CDS, told me, “The note and the role of CDS are mentioned in that note.” Most of his points have been accepted and responsibilities have been given to CDS.

So what has changed?

People associated with the military leadership, whom I talked to, believe that it is too early to say anything now.

Few people will have as much information as Lieutenant General Satish Dua (Retired).

He retired as Chief of Integrated Defense Staff. CDS Bipin Rawat currently heads this institution.

Says Dua, “Six or eight months is no time to assess such a big thing. Initial work will also take time as it is like putting feet on the feet of the existing military forces. The rules are very clear, the deadline has been set and I am very positive about it.

Let’s know what the government wants the CDS to do.

You can read many government orders and releases in this regard. But in a nutshell, this is to end the single service approach. Buying goods jointly, training staff, restoring existing command of Army, Navy and Air Force for better use of resources, using equipment made in India and making purchasing a priority.

Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande (retd) told me, “CDS has a lot of work in its hands. Theater and active command have to be discussed, their format, area of ​​responsibility, structure and components have to be decided. ”But not everyone is satisfied.

Lt. Gen. Anil Chait, who retired as Chief of Integrated Defense Staff, says, “Certainly the Kovid-19 crisis and the confrontation with China have shifted our focus away from jointness to the things that are more important.” But eight months after the formation of the post, I agree that the vision document is about to come. I definitely believe that this is happening, but I have not seen any signs of it yet, it should have happened between us till now.

What hasn’t changed

Every year the budget of the army in India is increasing. Sixty percent of the budget is spent on salary and pension. The budget for investment in new goods for weapons and goods and replacing old ones is being reduced.

Dr. Laxman Kumar Behera, researcher at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis, says, “We have yet to see the improvements that are needed to save on military modernization and human resource costs.” However, I believe that the border confrontation with China has diverted our attention. The army has to spend 60 percent of its budget on salaries and pensions. This is affecting capacity. I do not know what steps have been taken to improve it. If we talk about the on-time and mid-term solution, I think the only answer is to increase the budget. But yes, the pension rules and the rules related to the service of employees can be reviewed on a long-term basis.

Is the direction correct?

On the third day of assuming the post, CDS Bipin Rawat ordered that the proposal for the creation of Air Defense Command should be ready by 30 June 2020.

On February 17, a statement was published in The Hindu, a few days more than a month after assuming office. “The security of peninsular India should be the responsibility of a commander.” Can we integrate Eastern and Western Naval Command and call it Peninsular Command? We will start research for the preparation of Peninsular Command by 31 March. Jammu and Kashmir should be a separate theater which also has an IB (International Boundary) part. The balance of Western theater should also be a separate command.

He had said, “One or two theaters will monitor the border with China.” His statement caused sensation, especially in the Indian Navy.

“The name they chose did not do justice to the fact that the Indian Navy is not just limited to the Indian Ocean but also our interests in the Pacific Ocean,” an official said on condition of anonymity. CDS is expected to take a bigger view and take all services along.

Some people have also questioned the speed of the decision.

An official said, “Are these decisions based on some research or on someone’s own thinking?” We are talking about long-term changes and it is important to take steps here thoughtfully.

Arguing the need to move away from a person-based approach, General Chait says, “For professional changes, it is more important to make an institutional decision and not an individual decision.” This will ensure that the changes are made with a sense of transparency and not lasting for a few days. I think the biggest challenge before CDS will be to become a leader and not become a manager. Because there will always be a conflict of interest on this post.

‘How much do you know’

In his public speeches, General Rawat’s approach has always remained the same. They have repeatedly emphasized the need to avoid unilateral modernization in which a service goes ahead and the rest hangs back. He has been talking about rising pension expenses, synergy, integration and jointness.

And there is nothing surprising in this.

Because at the time of formation of the post of CDS, the Union Cabinet said that its main objective is to ‘bring jointness in operation, logistic, training, ancillary services, communication, repair and maintenance in all three services within three years’.

Jointness means walking together.

General Dua says, “Media talks about Air Defense Command, Peninsular Command but there is a lot of work on other issues also and there is not much talk about that.” Areas like cyber, space, social media are also important and things are changing here. Logistics is another area where work is taking place. These areas are not very fashionable but they are also important.

Indicating the need to control how much information the public gets, an officer with knowledge of the functioning of the CDS office told me, ‘In this office, we are doing all the important things that should be done. There is no need to promote every work. The question is, do you know how much? ‘

Experts believe that the appointment of CDS is a big step but a bigger step than that is the formation of Department of Military Affairs (DMA).

Admiral Shrikhande says, “This was a work which was not expected by many people. Till now the view was that the military services used to offer and the civil bureaucracy would accept it, implement it, reject it or send it to the political decision makers. The meaning of the DMA is that now the military services will look carefully at the proposals themselves and ask internal questions.

Today, the DMA has 160 civilian employees and hundreds of military personnel.

General Rawat is the head of the DMA while a civilian employee of the level of Joint Secretary.

On 15 August 2019, the Prime Minister shocked the nation by forming the post of Chief of Defense Staff.

In 39 seconds, the Prime Minister had not only announced the formation of this post, but had also made his vision clear about it.

At the end of his speech, the then Air Force Chief had a smile on his face, the Naval Chief nodded yes, and General Rawat, who was then the Chief of Army Staff, was just sitting quietly.