The death of General Bipin Rawat has thrown the challenge of choosing the next Chief of Defence Staff to the government and the defence establishment. In the revamped military structure of the Indian Defence establishment, the post of CDS is of pivotal importance. Though there are no fixed rules, the government decides the next CDS keeping in mind the security challenges.
Any commanding officer of the three services – Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy – is eligible for the post of the CDS. The decision will be taken on the basis of merit-cum-seniority of the military officer but the CDS should not be older than 65.
Of the three serving chiefs of the armed forces, Indian Army chief General MM Naravane is the senior-most officer in the military.
The CDS must be someone who can counter China’s aggressive attempts to change the status quo unilaterally from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. As India’s top military officer, the CDS has multiple roles to play including the Principal Advisor to the Defence Minister.
The CDS’s mandate is to ensure seamless coordination among the three services and follow a systematic defence strategy. The next CDS will also have the arduous task of continuing with the defence modernisation of the forces. Restructuring Indian armed forces on the lines of theatre command will be another important task for the next CDS.
Dr. Niranjan B Poojar 
Balaji Subramanian