New Delhi: – Following the accidental death of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, the process of appointing a new Chief of Defence Staff has begun. As part of this, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has been appointed as the head of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Therefore, General Naravane has become the senior-most military officer of the Defence Forces after late General Rawat. Until the new Chief of Defence Staff is appointed, General Naravane will oversee his work.
Chief of Defence Staff General Rawat was killed in a helicopter crash last week. This was followed by a meeting of the Defence Forces‘ ‘Chiefs of Staff Committee’ on Tuesday. During the meeting, tributes were paid to General Rawat, his wife Madhulika and other military officials. After the meeting, it was informed that General Naravane had been appointed as the head of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Prior to the Chief of Defence Staff appointment, the senior-most officer from the three Chiefs of Defence Forces was assigned the responsibility. On the same lines, General Naravane is said to have been assigned the responsibility as the Chief. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhary, currently the Chief of Air Staff, assumed office in September. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar accepted the responsibility last month.
After being appointed head of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Naravane had a telephonic conversation with Saudi Army Chief Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Mutair. It was said that the issue of bilateral defence cooperation was discussed. Meanwhile, after the accidental death of General Rawat, it was claimed that developing an independent ‘Theatre Command’ of the Indian Defence Forces would slow down to an extent.
However, General Rawat took the initiative and was also leading the process. However, some strategic analysts believe that the speed of setting up a thoroughly professional Indian Defence Theatre Command will remain the same.
The government and defence chiefs expressed keenness to speed up the process of upgrading the defence forces. Therefore, it is believed that the results will be visible in the near future.
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