Fillip for synergy among 3 service chiefs thanks to new CDS

New Delhi, Feb 14: Army chief General M M Naravane said with the office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) coming into being, the "synergy" among the three services will "get a fillip".

While speaking at a book launch event here, he also said the 1971 Indo-Pak war was a perfect example of what synergy and jointness of forces can achieve.

Synergy and tri-services integration is not a matter of chance, and is something that needs to be institutionalised, the Army chief said.

"We have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on place and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) coming into being... the synergy among the three services will get a fillip," Naravane said.

He also asserted that with synergy, the forces will be "better prepared".

The government earlier had created a Department of Military Affairs in the Defence Ministry to be headed by newly-appointed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.

General Rawat, who completed a three-year tenure as Army chief, was named as the country's first CDS in December.

The new department will have under it work relating to the three forces -- Army, Navy and Air Force -- and procurement exclusive to the services, except capital acquisitions, according to prevalent rules and procedures, an official order had said.