…the officers from the defence services up to the level of joint secretaries should be appointed for better and smooth functioning of the MoD and also help in avoiding large scale defence scams.
In view of the large number of legal complaints in the various courts against the MoD on pay and allowances discrepancies, defence procurement scams and lurking threat perception from our adversaries China and Pakistan, Naresh Chandra Committee, a 14-member task force on national security was set up by the Union government on 21 June 2012 to suggest ways to revamp of defence management in the country. Irrespective of the reasons, the real loser is the nation since a very important issue concerning national security remains unaddressed. Lack of political consensus on the issue has been cited as the reason for non-implementation. The political hierarchy, meanwhile, felt apprehensive about too much power vested in one person.Īs a result, while a majority of the recommendations were implemented, including the creation of a full-fledged office of the integrated defence staff comprising almost 200 officers, its head, the CDS, has not been put in place till date. While some in the military felt their identity might get swamped, bureaucratic resistance stemmed from the feeling that the CDS may become more powerful than the cabinet secretary.
However, when it came to implementation of this report, there was opposition to creation of the CDS both from within the armed forces as well as by the politico-bureaucratic combine. The BJP Govt’s National Security Review declared on was a bold path-breaking step, especially in terms of acceptance of the requirement of a CDS for India. In its wisdom, the committee recommended that the CDS should be created for carrying out four main functions – providing single-point military advice, administering strategic forces, ensuring jointness in the armed forces and enhancing planning process through inter-service coordination and prioritising. Irrespective of the reasons, the real loser is the nation since a very important issue concerning national security remains unaddressed.Īfter the 1999 Kargil conflict the Arun Singh committee, constituted as part of group of ministers (GoM) in April 2000 under the chairmanship of L K Advani former Deputy Prime Minister recommended the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) post since the existing system of chiefs of staff committee had not been able to deliver on important issues.