The government of India has finally announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (retd), the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and a former Eastern Army Commander, as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The announcement has come more than nine months after the country’s first CDS, General Rawat, was killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021. Chauhan, who was commissioned in the same regiment as Rawat, will spearhead the theaterisation drive to best utilise the military’s resources for future wars and operations. Before Chauhan’s appointment, the government had amended the Army, Air Force and Navy rules in early June to broaden the pool of officers from which the CDS was to be selected. Chauhan will take over at a time when India and China are locked in a border row in eastern Ladakh and the government has sharpened its focus on modernising the armed forces through indigenisation. Born on May 18, 1961, Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles (the same regiment as Rawat) in 1981. As CDS, he will also be the permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) and the single-point military adviser to the defence minister. Chauhan was the Eastern Army commander from September 2019 and held the charge till his retirement in May 2021. He has also held the key charge of director general of military operations and is known to be an authority on border-related matters. Chauhan was the DGMO when the Indian Air Force struck terror targets in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama suicide attack in Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed 12 days earlier. Accelerating the theaterisation drive and enhancing synergy among the armed forces will be Chauhan’s top priority as CDS. The theaterisation drive slowed down after Rawat’s death, and the government will now expect Chauhan to provide impetus to the long-awaited military reform. The current theaterisation model to enhance tri-service synergy seeks to set up four integrated commands — two land-centric theatres, an air defence command, and a maritime theatre command. The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands spread across the country. The army and air force have seven commands each, while the Indian Navy has three. Chauhan will also have to address the Indian Air Force’s concerns about the current theaterisation model, said a senior official. Lack of consensus on joint structures could delay the military reform. The department of military affairs has been assigned critical responsibilities that include overseeing matters related to India’s neighbouring countries including border disputes and incidents, development of infrastructure in forward areas, and deployment of forces. Monitoring developments in the Indian Ocean region, Afghanistan, West Asia and South East Asia, and supply of arms and ammunition to friendly countries also come under the purview of DMA. Chauhan was seen as a top contender for the post after the government amended rules on June 6, 2021, making retired three-star officers below the age of 62 eligible for the post. When the government amended the rules, it was apparent that it had a panel of suitable candidates in mind for the post of CDS. SPIRITUAL WORLD