General Bipin Rawat likely to be named as India’s Chief of Defence Staff this week

New Delhi, Dec 29: General Bipin Rawat is likely to take over as the Chief of Defence Staff. The announcement would be made next week, sources tell OneIndia.

The new Chief of Defence Staff would be a 4-star rank general. The CDS would be the single point advisor to the Government on matters relating to the military. The advice by the CDS would also be binding on the three service chiefs.

Meanwhile, a pre-scheduled ceremony to hand over the baton of the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee by outgoing Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat to Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh was cancelled on Friday.

The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) comprises chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and the senior-most member is appointed its chairperson.

The ceremony to hand over the baton of the chairman of the CoSC has been cancelled at the last minute on Friday.

There was indication that the ceremony has been cancelled as the government is going to appoint the country''s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in the next couple of days. The CDS will also act as the permanent chairman of the CoSC.

The ceremony to hand over the baton of chairman of COSC was scheduled as Gen Rawat is due for retirement from service on December 31. It is widely expected that Gen Rawat will be appointed as India''s first CDS once he demits office of the Army Chief.

The CDS would not be eligible for private employment without prior approval for a period of five years after demitting office of the Chief of Defence Staff.

CDS will head the department of military affairs, which would be under the Defence Ministry. The Armed Forces will fall under the ambit of the department of military affairs.

The Chief of Defence Staff will head the same and the department will have an appropriate mix of both civilians and military officers.

Further, the CDS after demitting office will not be eligible for any government office.

CDS will head the department of military affairs, which would be under the Defence Ministry. The Armed Forces will fall under the ambit of the department of military affairs.

The Chief of Defence Staff will head the same and the department will have an appropriate mix of both civilians and military officers.

The CDS would be supported by the Integrated Defence staff. The CDS would have a second role and will be the permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee.

The CDS would be a one-point reference for the Prime Minister in all security-related matters, especially those concerning the military. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day address, had said that in order to further better coordination between the forces, I want to announce that India will have a Chief of Defence Staff.

This would ensure that the forces are more effective, Modi also said during his Independence Day speech.

The first time that the recommendation for this post was made was by the K Subrahmanyam Committee that was set up after the Kargil. Another committee headed by Naresh Chandra which was set up to suggest reforms in higher defence management had also suggested the importance of such a post.

The committee, however, suggested that the post of a Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff be created. The CDS would focus on coordination between the three service chief when it comes to procurements, budgeting, logistics and training. The Army, Navy and IAF chief will, however, continue to have operational command of their respective forces.