Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a Chief of Defence Staff position to supervise all three defence facilities as he spoke to the country on the 73rd Independence Day of India.
"Our forces are the pride of India. I want to announce a significant decision from the Red Fort to further sharpen the coordination between the forces. India will have a Chief of Defense Staff-CDS. This will make the forces even more efficient," said PM Modi in his Red Fort speech.
A Chief of Defence staff to oversee the military was first recommended by a committee set up after the Kargil war of 1999.
The concept was strongly backed by Manohar Parrikar, who was Defence Minister for two years during PM Modi's first term.
