Amarinder hails CDS announcement

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday welcomed the prime minister's announcement on creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff as an important step to strengthen and streamline the command-structure for the defence services.

Hailing the Central government's decision as the "fulfilment of a long-pending demand", Singh said the move would go a long way in improving the command and control system of the Indian armed forces.

He also sought to take credit for his Congress party, saying the CDS idea was "first mooted by the then UPA government in the wake of the Kargil War" in 1999 with Pakistan.

Singh, a former soldier, said the creation of a post similar to CDS Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) was suggested again in 2009 by the Naresh Chandra Committee under the United Progressive Alliance government.

But the decision could not be implemented, he said in a statement.

The CDS is envisaged as a single-point advisor to the Central government in matters relating to the defence services and national security.

CDS would make the Indian armed forces more integrated, thus enhancing their effectiveness. Given India's security environment and the threats it faces, the role of such an individual would become even more critical in the years ahead, Singh said.

The chief minister pointed out that given the size and complexity of defence forces, a single control unit had become a necessity rather than an option for India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address this year announced India will have a Chief of Defence Staff to bring synergy in functioning of the Army, Navy and Air Force.