India Set To Get First Chief Of Defence Staff As Cabinet Approves Post Creation After Doval Report

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, PTI has reported.

The Cabinet also gave nod to the National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval headed committee’s report on finalising the responsibilities of the CDS.

The Chief of Defence Staff will head the tri-services and will act as the single point military adviser to the government.

The announcement of the creation of the post was first made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence day speech this year.

Soon after PM Modi’s announcement, a high-level committee headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval was constituted to finalise an enabling framework and determine exact responsibilities of the CDS. The committee had reportedly submitted its report to the government around the first week of December.

The information about the panel submitting its report to the government was given by Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Sripad Naik in Rajya Sabha on 2 December.

Naik also informed that the CDS would come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.