UPSC Prelims 2024 Q77: Chief of Defence Staff Duties — Explained
What are the duties of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as Head of the Department of Military Affairs?
1. Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee
2. Exercise military command over the three Service Chiefs
3. Principal Military Advisor to Defence Minister on all tri-service matters
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1, 2 and 3
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
Answer: (d) 1 and 3 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — When the Cabinet created the CDS post on 24 December 2019, it made the CDS the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). Before this, the senior-most of the three Service Chiefs chaired the COSC by rotation. That arrangement often gave a Chief only a few months in the chair. A permanent chairman gives the COSC continuity in tri-service planning.
- 2: incorrect — The 2019 Cabinet decision says the CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three Service Chiefs. This was done so the CDS can give impartial advice to the political leadership. The Army, Navy and Air Force Chiefs still command their own Services. The CDS is a four-star officer, first among equals with the Chiefs, but not their commander.
- 3: correct — The CDS is the Principal Military Adviser to the Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) on all tri-service matters. The three Service Chiefs continue to advise the Minister only on matters that concern their own Service. So the CDS's advisory role covers joint matters, while each Chief keeps the role for their own Service.
How to eliminate
Statement 2 is the key. If you know that the CDS was designed to have no operational command, you can rule out every option that includes Statement 2. Only one option is left. Two clues from basic knowledge help. First, India created the CDS to integrate the Services, not to add a new layer of command above them. Second, the government stressed that the CDS should give 'impartial advice', and that is hard to do while commanding the Chiefs. Statement 2 also uses strong wording: 'military command over the three Service Chiefs'. When a new post is described as having control over existing four-star heads, check that claim carefully. Statements 1 and 3 match the official description of the post almost word for word. Fact to remember: the CDS has no command authority, including over the three Service Chiefs.
Know more
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): what the post does and does not do
The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the CDS post on 24 December 2019. It had been recommended after the Kargil war, by the Kargil Review Committee and the 2001 Group of Ministers. General Bipin Rawat became the first CDS on 1 January 2020. The CDS is a four-star officer and can serve up to the age of 65.
The CDS holds three positions at once:
| Position | What it means |
|---|---|
| Secretary, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) | Heads a new department in the Ministry of Defence that handles the armed forces and their procurement (except capital acquisitions) |
| Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee | Replaces the old system where the senior-most Chief chaired the committee by rotation |
| Principal Military Adviser to the Raksha Mantri | Advises on all tri-service matters; each Chief still advises on their own Service |
Other roles: military adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority; administers tri-service bodies such as the Defence Space Agency, Defence Cyber Agency and Armed Forces Special Operations Division; member of the Defence Acquisition Council and the Defence Planning Committee.
DMA's mandate: promote jointness in procurement, training and staffing, and restructure military commands, including by setting up joint or theatre commands.
What the CDS does not do: exercise military command, including over the three Service Chiefs. The Defence Secretary, who heads the Department of Defence, remains responsible for the defence of India as a whole.
Related reform: the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 came into force on 10 May 2024. It lets heads of tri-service organisations exercise disciplinary and administrative control over personnel from all three Services.
In the news
Jointness reforms were in the news before Prelims 2024. The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 came into force on 10 May 2024, and theatre commands were being debated. UPSC likely chose the CDS's charter as the static core of that topic.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Kargil Review Committee: The Kargil Review Committee's findings started the higher-defence reforms that eventually produced the CDS post and its defined charter.