NEW DELHI : After creating the post of the Chief of Defence Staff or CDS, the government today amended rules to cap its service age-limit to a maximum of 65 years. As per govt rules, the Army, Navy and IAF chiefs can serve up to the age of 62 or three years, whichever is earlier.
The Chief of Defence Staff will serve as the single point of contact for the different branches of the armed forces. The CDS will also be the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister on tri-service matters. However he will not exert any military command of the three service chiefs.
The CDS would be four-star General drawn from the Indian Army, Air Force or Navy and would receive a salary equivalent to that of a service chief, the notification issued by the govt said. Duties will entail trimming weapons procurement procedures and integrating the operation of the armed forces.
The post was created on recommendations of the committee that oversaw the 1999 Kargil war. The committee was set up to examine lapses in security during the war.
The govt is yet to name the country’s first-ever Chief of Defence Staff, though General Bipin Rawat is considered the frontrunner. He completes his three-year term as Army Chief on Dec 31 and turns 62 in March next year.
