Don't rush to give command function to Chief of Defence Staff: Lt Gen Saha (Retd)

Vesting the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) with command authority over the three services could be jumping the gun, cautions Lt General Subroto Saha (Retired), former Deputy Chief of the Indian Army (Planning & Systems) and Corps Commander in Kashmir, in an exclusive interview to SP's Digital's Vishal Thapar.

To begin with, operational command should stay with the individual services. The CDS could focus on coordination and integration of planning, budgeting and procurements for all three services, he suggests, while hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day announcement about the institution of the post of CDS.

This reformative step would necessitate a new equilibrium between the apex military leadership and the politico-bureaucratic establishment, with the CDS rendering single-point military advice to the Cabinet, and also implementing the operational directives of the Cabinet for the military.