Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has been announced as country’s first Chief of Defence Staff. General Rawat was selected as Chief of Defence Staff just a day before he was set to call it quits from the service after successfully finishing a full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff.
It should be noted that General Rawat is the first officer to hold the coveted post of the Chief of Defence Staff, which was set up just days ago.
The Chief of Defence Staff will function as a single-point advisor to the government on information related to the military while focusing on better cooperation between the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
It has been learnt that General Bipin Rawat was the front-runner for the post. Going through the profile on the Indian Army’s website, General Rawat commanded an infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector, which is an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley and a corps in the Northeast.
General Rawat was recruited as the Chief of Army Staff on December 31, 2016 and was to retire tomorrow. Now that it is very clear that he will continue his service as the Chief of Defence Staff.
During Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the chief of defence staff post. It should be noted that a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), though a four-star officer of either the Indian Army, Navy or Air Force, will be senior to the service chiefs and only single point of contact between the armed forces and the Prime Minister.
General Bipin Rawat managed several operational responsibilities in many areas, including along the Line of Control with Pakistan, the Line of Actual Control with China including the North-East.