Army Chief Gen M M Naravane has assumed the charge as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee consisting of the three service chiefs, according to sources.
This appears to be a stop-gap arrangement before the appointment of a new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) following the demise of Gen Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash recently.
Earlier, the senior-most among the three service chiefs used to be the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Gen Naravane has been given the charge as he is the senior-most among the three service chiefs. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar had taken charge of their respective positions on September 30 and November 30.
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Gen Naravane’s name is already doing rounds for elevation as CDS. The post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts, headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar. The CDS also heads the Department of Military Affairs within the Ministry of Defence.
The CDS is responsible for coordination among the three services in equipment and arms procurement, training and staffing.
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