Army, Air Force and Navy can now be brought under single leadership, govt amends rules

Such a position would be taken up by a three-star general and the whole move is being seen as a significant step in the direction to have a unified command.

In a bid to have better coordination between the Army, Air Force and Navy, the government has reportedly amended rules which would allow an officer from any one service to have direct command over personnel from the other two services. Such a position would be taken up by a three-star general and the whole move is being seen as a significant step in the direction to have a unified command.

"It might seem a minor structural reform but represents a huge cultural, fundamental shift in the Indian military system, where the three services often pull in different directions. If the country is to have a chief of defence staff (CDS) and theatre commands in the years ahead, this tweaking of the Army, Navy and IAF rules is the first step towards it," a TOI report quoted a top source as saying.

The move was necessiated as all the three services were governed by different acts and rules. This led to lack of coordination and communication between the services.

The move has been implemented especially for the strategically-located Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), which was established as India's first theatre command in October 2001 but has largely failed to achieve its potential due to internecine turf wars among the three services, general politico-bureaucratic apathy, fund crunches and environmental concerns, the TOI report said.

This move will ensure much-needed synergy in training, logistics, planning, procurements and operations among the 1.5-million strong armed forces, the report further said.

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