Article Posted on : - Jan 10, 2017

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Defence Ministry is soon expected to make a presentation before Prime Minister Narendra Modi on creation of the post of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee.

Sources said the presentation is likely to be made before the PM this month or the next in a conference which will also be attended by the three service chiefs.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS,) headed by the Prime Minister, will take the final decision on creating the post of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee, they said.

The permanent chairman, CoSC will be a four-star officer, who will be equivalent to chiefs of Army, Air Force and Navy.

He would look into joint issues of the services like training of troops, acquisition of weapon systems and joint operations of the services, the sources said.

The officer would also be in-charge of the tri-services command at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the strategic command of nuclear weapons along with the upcoming cyber and space command.

Last month, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said that the post "should be" a reality soon.

A GoM in its report, submitted to the government in February 2001, recommended the creation of such an institution.

The Naresh Chandra Task Force, formed in May 2011 to review the national security management system, recommended the creation of permanent post of chairman, chiefs of staff committee (CoSC).

Lt Gen (retd) D B Shekatkar, who is the Chairman of Committee on Combat Capabilities Enhancement of Armed Forces, in his report is also believed to have recommended the creation of such a post.

In its response to a Parliamentary panel last year, the Defence Ministry had said, "Considering that there (are) two proposals for the establishment of the post of CDS and Permanent Chairman, CoSC, it is expected that at the time of a final decision the CCS on the recommendations of the NCTF, both proposals will be taken note of and the final decision, as and when, would be taken to settle both the proposals."