New Delhi, February 4

The armed forces are likely to collaborate and create an ‘air defence command’ to cover all aerial operations taking place in the Indian airspace, a ‘peninsula command’ to look after all naval operations in the closer Indian Ocean region, and a ‘logistics command’, said India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat on Tuesday.

 

‘Need to get going’

We need to start working on some of the aspects where we think immediate integration can happen… air defence is one area, which according to me, is a low-hanging fruit.

General Bipin Rawat, CDS

Commanders of such theatres would be reporting to their respective service chiefs initially, General Rawat told reporters, adding that no decision had been taken on how many joint commands would be created on the Indo-Chinese border.

“In order to become the armed forces of the Union, we need to start working on some of the aspects where we think immediate integration can happen. There, we find that air defence is one area, which according to me, is a low hanging fruit and can happen in a time-bound manner,” the CDS said.

The responsibility of the management of the airspace is that of the Air Force, therefore, the security and safety of the airspace must rest with that one service, he explained. “We feel that all the assets which are there must integrate under one service so that command and control issues can be simplified,” he said. In a landmark decision, the government on December 24 last year approved the creation of a CDS in the rank of a four-star general who acts as the principal military adviser to the Defence Minister on all matters relating to the tri-services.

The government also decided to create a new Department of Military Affairs (DMA) under the Defence Ministry, which is headed by the CDS as its secretary.

Rawat said in the DMA, total six joint secretaries — four from the armed forces and two from the civil services — were working. He said there should be an integrated logistics command. — PTI