Chief of the Air Staff (India)

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Chief of the Air Staff
Flag of the Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.svg
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh - 2024.jpg
since 30 September 2024
Air Force Ensign of India.svg  Indian Air Force
StatusProfessional head of aerial branch of the Indian Armed Forces.
AbbreviationCAS
Member of Defence Acquisition Council
Defence Planning Committee
National Security Council
Reports to Flag of India.svg President of India
Flag of India.svg Prime Minister of India
Flag of India.svg Minister of Defence
Flag of Chief of Defence Staff (India).svg Chief of Defence Staff
Residence Air House 23, Akbar Road, New Delhi
Seat Air HQ, Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi
Appointer Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
President of India
Term length 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Constituting instrument Air Force Act, 1950 (Act No. 45 of 1950)
PrecursorChief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force
Formation26 January 1950;75 years ago (1950-01-26)
First holder Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
DeputyFlag of Air marshal (India).svg Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS)
Salary250,000 (US$3,000) monthly [1] [2]
Website Official website

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the aerial branch of the Indian Armed Forces. [3] Customarily held by a four-star air chief marshal, the CAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IAF, mandated with the responsibilities of supervising the force's overall functioning during states of peace and wartime, committing to the establishment-cum-continuity of air deterrence and executing India's security objectives vis-à-vis the preservation of the country's air sovereignty. [4]

Contents

Being a permanent member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the National Security Council (NSC), the CAS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Government of India on all matters privy to the IAF. [5]

Statutorily, the CAS ranks 12th-overall in the Indian order of precedence, and is the IAF's status-equivalent of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief of the Naval Staff - all three positions of which are also occupied by four-star officers from the armed forces. [6]

Description

The Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi - the station of Air HQ, where the CAS is seated. VayuBhawanDelhi.jpg
The Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi - the station of Air HQ, where the CAS is seated.

Roles and responsibilities

Seated at Air Headquarters (Air HQ), stationed in New Delhi, the CAS is the senior-most operational officer of the IAF, and is tasked with the following:

In addition to these responsibilities, the CAS is also a permanent member of:

The office's eminence in the aforementioned groups thus grants the appointee with the role to advise the Minister of Defence (Raksha Mantri or RM) on the affairs related to the IAF's functioning and the promotion of an comprehensive integrated planning policy with respect to the affairs of tri-service integration, doctrinal strategy, capability development, defence acquisition and infrastructure. [10] [11]

Structure

As the professional head of the force, the CAS is assisted by one subordinate officer and one principal staff officer, namely:

Promotion

Initially, beginning in the pre-independence era, until 1966, the office of CAS was held by a three-star air marshal; the first six chiefs in the post-independence IAF were three-star air marshals. [12] However, the office’s rank-specifications was raised to the four-star rank of air chief marshal in January 1966, initially as a recognitive measure to Air Marshal Arjan Singh, the IAF's third and then-incumbent CAS, for his leadership of the IAF during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965; every CAS-appointee since then has been an air chief marshal. [12]

The move to appoint a new designate to the position usually begins three months before the change-of-command, wherein the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reviews the résumés of the IAF's senior-most air marshals, which regularly includes the Vice Chief of the Air Staff and at-most three of the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chiefs (AOC-in-C) of the force’s combatant commands. [13] Appointments to the position are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) - comprising the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, upon recommendation from Air HQ; appointees to the office are subsequently promoted to the rank of air chief marshal. [14]

Since 1950, the senior-most air marshals in the IAF's command cadre have customarily been appointed as CAS, nevertheless, this tradition has been broken twice, first in 1973 - when then-Air Marshal Om Prakash Mehra to supercede two senior officers, and again in 1988 - when then-Air Marshal S. K. Mehra superceded one senior officer to become CAS. [15] [16]

Tenure

During the initial years of the post-independence IAF, CAS-appointees were given one four-year term, with the possibility of extension; Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee was the longest serving chief – at 6 years, 7 months, 7 days, and the only appointee to have ever received a second four-year term; nevertheless, he unexpectedly died halfway through it. [17]

Currently, according to the Regulations for the Air Force, 2000 – a CAS-appointee reaches superannuation upon the completion of three years in the position or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. [18] However, an appointee may also be dismissed from office by the President of India before the conclusion of the tenure under Section 18-19 of the Air Force Act, 1950 and Article 310 of the Constitution. [19]

Additionally, a CAS-appointee is also eligible to be selected for the position of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), in accordance with the Air Force (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 - which prescribes that the designated nominee, in this case the CAS, must be under the age of 62 at the time of appointment as CDS; as of 2024, no CAS-appointee has ever been appointed as CDS. [20] [21]

History

Pre-independence era (1932-1947)

Since the establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in October 1932 (later rechristened the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF)), the organization's professional head bore the undermentioned designations: [22]

Dominion-era (1947-1950)

The selection of the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Indian Air Force was finalized in July 1947, following deliberations between the British and Indian leadership. Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst was appointed to the position, with the understanding that he would oversee the RIAF's transition to an independent service and mentor its emerging Indian leadership. [25]

Upon independence and the subsequent partition of the subcontinent, RIAF India was bifurcated into two new entities: a successor Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - responsible for the Dominion of India, and the newly-formed Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF) - responsible for the Dominion of Pakistan. However, the former role of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Forces in India was trifurcated into three positions:

Whilst the RIAF and RPAF maintained their respective commanding officers, the Deputy Supreme Commander (Air), who worked for the Supreme Commander's Headquarters (Supreme HQ), acted as the overall coordinator for the two new air forces, under the additional title of Air Officer Commanding RAF Units in India and Pakistan. [26] The role was disbanded in November 1947, following which India and Pakistan subsequently gained full organizational control of the RIAF and RPAF, respectively. [26]

On 1 March 1948, the designation of the RIAF's commanding officer was rechristened as Chief of the Air Staff, [27] and again to Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (CAS/C-in-C, RIAF) on 21 June - as a measure to reflect uniformity with the C-in-Cs of the post-independence Indian Army and the Royal Indian Navy. [28] Upon India's establishment as a republic on 26 January 1950, the RIAF was rechristened as the Indian Air Force (IAF), dropping the Royal-prefix; subsequently, the position's designation was again modified to Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (CAS/C-in-C, IAF). [29] In the initial years after independence, up until 1950, the position was occupied by two air marshals seconded from the RAF, namely, Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst and Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman. [29]

Republic-era (1950-present)

In 1954, Air Marshal Sir Gerald Ernest Gibbs, the IAF's third and then-serving CAS/C-in-C, and originally an RAF-secondment, retired; as a consequence, Air Vice Marshal Subroto Mukherjee - then the IAF's Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS), was promoted to rank of Air Marshal and succeeded him as the first native and first non-RAF C-in-C of the force. [30] A year later, in 1955, the designation of C-in-C was shortened to simply Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) through the Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955; as a result of the Act, Mukherjee's tenure continued under the new designation, making him the last C-in-C. [31]

In January 2002, then-retired Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, the IAF's third CAS, was promoted to the five-star rank of Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF), in recognition of his leadership during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War - which made him the only CAS-appointee to have ever been promoted to the rank; his promotion occurred thirty-three years after his superannuation. [32] To note, although the rank-holder of MIAF is nominally the highest-ranking officer in the IAF, the rank is all but titular with no operational duties attached, which leaves the CAS as the highest operationally-active officer in the IAF. [33]

Appointees

(**Seconded from the Royal Air Force )

Air Marshal Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force (1947–1948)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
No image available.svg
Elmhirst, Thomas Air Marshal
Sir Thomas Elmhirst CB , KBE , AFC **
(1895–1982)
[a]
15 August 194720 June 1948310 days

Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (1948–1950)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
No image available.svg
Elmhirst, Thomas Air Marshal
Sir Thomas Elmhirst CB , KBE , AFC **
(1895–1982)
[a]
21 June 194825 January 19501 year, 218 days

Chief of the Air Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTime in office
1
No image available.svg
Elmhirst, Thomas Air Marshal
Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE , CB , AFC **
(1895–1982)
[a] [34]
26 January 195023 February 195028 days
2
No image available.svg
Ivelaw-Chapman, Ronald Air Marshal
Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman KBE , CB , DFC , AFC **
(1899–1978)
[a]
23 February 19509 December 19511 year, 289 days
3
No image available.svg
Gibbs, Gerald Air Marshal
Gerald Ernest Gibbs CIE , CBE , MC & Two Bars **
(1896–1992)
[a]
10 December 195131 March 19542 years, 111 days
4
SubrotoMukherjee.jpg
Mukerjee, Subroto Air Marshal
Subroto Mukerjee OBE
(1911–1960)
1 April 195431 March 1955364 days

Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present)

No.PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTime in office
4
SubrotoMukherjee.jpg
Mukerjee, Subroto Air Marshal
Subroto Mukerjee OBE
(1911–1960)
1 April 19558 November 1960 5 years, 221 days
5
Air Marshal Aspy Engineer.jpg
Engineer, Aspy Air Marshal
Aspy Merwan Engineer DFC
(1912–2002)
1 December 196031 July 19643 years, 243 days
6
Marshal Arjan Singh.jpg
Singh, Arjan Marshal of the Indian Air Force
Arjan Singh DFC
(1919–2017)
1 August 196415 July 19694 years, 348 days
7
ACM PC Lal.jpg
Lal, Pratap Air Chief Marshal
Pratap Chandra Lal DFC
(1916–1982)
16 July 196915 January 19733 years, 183 days
8
ACM OP Mehra.jpg
Mehra, Om Air Chief Marshal
Om Prakash Mehra PVSM
(1919–2015)
16 January 197331 January 19763 years, 15 days
9
ACM H Moolgavkar.jpg
Moolgavkar, Hrushikesh Air Chief Marshal
Hrushikesh Moolgavkar PVSM , MVC
(1920–2015)
1 February 197630 August 19782 years, 241 days
10
ACM IH Latif.jpg
Latif, Idris Air Chief Marshal
Idris Hasan Latif PVSM
(1923–2018)
1 September 197830 August 19813 years, 29 days
11
No image.png
Singh, Dilbagh Air Chief Marshal
Dilbagh Singh PVSM , AVSM , VM
(1926–2001)
1 September 19813 September 19843 years, 2 days
12
No image.png
Katre, Lakshman Air Chief Marshal
Lakshman Madhav Katre PVSM , AVSM
(1926–1985)
3 September 19841 July 1985 301 days
13
No image.png
Fontaine, Denis Air Chief Marshal
Denis Anthony La Fontaine PVSM , AVSM , VM
(1929–2011)
3 July 198531 July 19883 years, 28 days
14
ACM S K Mehra.jpg
Mehra, Surinder Air Chief Marshal
Surinder Kumar Mehra PVSM , AVSM , VM
(1932–2003)
1 August 198831 July 19912 years, 364 days
15
No image available.svg
Suri, Nirmal Air Chief Marshal
Nirmal Chandra Suri PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1933)
31 July 199131 July 19932 years
16
ACM SK Kaul.jpg
Kaul, Swaroop Air Chief Marshal
Swaroop Krishna Kaul PVSM , MVC , ADC
(born 1935)
1 August 199331 December 19952 years, 152 days
17
No image available.svg
Sareen, Satish Air Chief Marshal
Satish Kumar Sareen PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1939)
31 December 199531 December 19983 years
18
No image available.svg
Tipnis, Anil Air Chief Marshal
Anil Yashwant Tipnis PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1940)
31 December 199831 December 20013 years
19
ACM S Krishnaswamy.jpg
Krishnaswamy, Srinivasapuram Air Chief Marshal
Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM , AVSM , VM
(born 1943)
31 December 200131 December 20043 years
20
No image available.svg
Tyagi, Shashindra Air Chief Marshal
Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1945)
31 December 200431 March 20072 years, 90 days
21
Fali Homi Major.JPG
Major, Fali Air Chief Marshal
Fali Homi Major PVSM , AVSM , SC , VM , ADC
(born 1947)
31 March 200731 May 20092 years, 61 days
22
The Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force UK, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton handing over Memento to Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik on goodwill visit to UK, from March 15 to March 18, 2010 (cropped).jpg
Naik, Pradeep Air Chief Marshal
Pradeep Vasant Naik PVSM , VSM , ADC
(born 1949)
31 May 200931 July 20112 years, 61 days
23
Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, PVSM AVSM VM ADC.jpg
Browne, Norman Air Chief Marshal
Norman Anil Kumar Browne PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1951)
31 July 201131 December 20132 years, 153 days
24
ACM Arup Raha.jpg
Raha, Arup Air Chief Marshal
Arup Raha PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1954)
31 December 201331 December 20163 years
25
ACM BS Dhanoa.jpg
Dhanoa, Birender Air Chief Marshal
Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM , AVSM , YSM , VM , ADC
(born 1957)
31 December 201630 September 20192 years, 273 days
26
Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC took over as the Chief of the Air Staff on 30 September 2019.jpg
Bhadauria, Rakesh Air Chief Marshal
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1959)
30 September 201930 September 20212 years
27
Chief of the air staff ACM Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM AVSM VM ADC.jpg
Chaudhari, Vivek Ram Air Chief Marshal
Vivek Ram Chaudhari PVSM , AVSM , VM , ADC
(born 1962)
30 September 202130 September 20243 years
28
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh - 2024.jpg
Singh, Amar Preet Air Chief Marshal
Amar Preet Singh PVSM , AVSM
(born 1964)
30 September 2024Incumbent329 days

See also

Other offices of the Indian Armed Forces

History

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Seconded from the Royal Air Force

References

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  2. Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today . Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. "CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF". indianairforce.nic.in.
  4. "IAF's Revised Doctrine 2022: An Overview". www.vifindia.org. 7 February 2023.
  5. 1 2 "The Civil and the Military in India". www.theindiaforum.in. 12 February 2020.
  6. "PRESIDENT'S SECRETARIAT" (PDF). www.mha.gov.in. 26 July 1979.
  7. "rotection of India's sovereignty, integrity to be ensured at any cost: New IAF Chief". The Economic Times. 30 September 2021.
  8. "Indian Armed Forces". knowindia.india.gov.in.
  9. 1 2 "The Air Force Act, 1950" (PDF).
  10. "Civil-military relations in Independent India". www.orfonline.org. 15 August 2022.
  11. "CDS Rawat to face hurdles & sabotage unless rules are rewritten". www.orfonline.org. 2 January 2020.
  12. 1 2 "HIGHER RANK FOR AIR CHIEF" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 20 January 1966.
  13. "Suspense continues over name of next IAF Chief". www.theweek.in. 16 September 2019.
  14. "Who is R.K.S. Bhadauria, the next IAF chief". www.theweek.in. 19 September 2019.
  15. "Superseding seniors not new in armed forces". www.newindianexpress.com. 20 December 2016.
  16. "S.K. Mehra supersedes M.M. Singh for IAF chief post". www.indiatoday.in. 15 July 1988.
  17. "Fresh Tenure for Air Chief" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 14 August 1958.
  18. "Defence Services Regulations, 2000" (PDF). www.mod.gov.in.
  19. "Article 310 in Constitution of India". indiankanoon.org.
  20. "Watch - Navy or IAF Officer Should've Been Made CDS but Lt Gen Chauhan a Good Choice: Ajai Shukla". thewire.in. 29 September 2022.
  21. "MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (Department of Defence) NOTIFICATION" (PDF). assettype.com.
  22. "The Royal Indian Air Force, 1932 – 1947". www.rafmuseum.org.uk. 15 August 2020.
  23. "Inter-War, Inter-Service Friction on the North-West Frontier of India and its Impact on the Development and Application of Royal Air Force Doctrine" (PDF). core.ac.uk.
  24. "PB Joubert de la Ferte_P". www.rafweb.org.
  25. Gupta, Anchit (20 December 2022). "30 Days That Shaped the IAF: Selecting Its Inaugural Chief". IAFHistory. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  26. 1 2 "Departure of Air Marshal H. S. P. Walmsley" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 13 November 1947. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  27. "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1948. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  28. "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  29. 1 2 "Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst". www.rafweb.org.
  30. "Government Tribute To Air Marshal Mukerjee" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 9 November 190.
  31. "THE COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF (CHANGE IN DESIGNATION) BILL, 1955" (PDF). lddashboard.legislative.gov.in.
  32. "Arjan Singh is India's first IAF marshal". m.rediff.com. 25 January 2002.
  33. "MARSHAL OF IAF". afcat.cdac.in.
  34. Chiefs of the Indian Air Force 1947 to Present Archived 26 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine