New Delhi: The government has started the process of appointing the next Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) and based on the recommendations received from the three services, the list of names will be soon submitted to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for approval. Officials gave this information on Friday.
He said the government was finalizing a committee consisting of senior commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force to select the successor of General Bipin Rawat.
It is noteworthy that India’s first CDS General Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other armed forces personnel died in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8. Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the incident and critically injured, passed away on Wednesday.
read also
Two people aware of the developments related to the selection of the new CDS said that the list is being finalized based on the recommendations received from the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and will soon be submitted to the Defense Minister for approval. Will go
He said that after getting the approval of the Defense Minister, the names would be sent to the Appointments Committee of the (Union) Cabinet to take a final decision on the appointment of the new CDS.
It is understood that the Chief of the Army Staff, General MM. Considering Naravane’s entire experience, there is a strong possibility of him being appointed to this top post. He is due to retire in April next year. Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal VR Choudhary and Chief of the Navy Admiral R. Hari Kumar took over his post on 30 September and 30 November. If General Naravane is appointed as the CDS, the government will also have to consider his successor.
Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen C.P. Mohanty and Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Y.K. Joshi is ahead in the race for the post of Chief of Army Staff. Lt Gen Mohanty and Lt Gen Joshi belong to the same batch and are the senior-most commander after General Naravane. Both of them are due to retire on January 31. General Rawat took over as India’s first CDS on January 1 last year. The CDS is also the Secretary to the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defense and the Principal Advisor to the Defense Minister. (agency)