Chiefs of Staff Committee | |
---|---|
![]() Crest of the Chairman-Chiefs of Staff Committee. | |
Founded | 15 August 1947 [1] |
Country | India |
Branch | Armed forces |
Type | Military staff |
Part of | Indian Armed Forces |
Headquarters | Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, India |
Website | www.india.gov.in |
Commanders | |
Chairman | General Anil Chauhan PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , SM , VSM |
Notable commanders | Chief of the Air Staff Subroto Mukerjee OBE Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , YSM , SM , VSM , ADC |
Insignia | |
Abbreviation | COSC |
The Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is an administrative forum of the senior-most military leaders of the Indian Armed Forces, which advises the Government of India on all military and strategic matters deemed privy to military coordination, direction and policy between the country's three armed services. [2] By organization, the COSC is comprised several key members, namely, Chief of Defence Staff - who acts as the Committee's Permanent Chairman, along with the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff - all of whom are also additionally supported by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. [3]
By function, the COSC has two principal responsibilities: one, to inculcate and implement jointness through integration of, inter alia, the doctrine, logistics, and operations of the three armed services; two, to apprise to the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, on all matters related to the nation's security. [4] As such, it exists primarily as an advisory body, endowed with no executive command authority. [5]
To execute its mandate, the COSC is closely supported by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and other inter-service bodies under its patronage that specialize in facets such as intelligence, personnel, operations and training. [6] Comparably, the forum is identical to the United Kingdom's Chiefs of Staff Committee and Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. [7]
From 1947 to 2019, and briefly from 2021 to 2022 - the leadership of the COSC was rotated amongst the service chiefs (or Chiefs of Staff) of the three armed services, with the senior-most chief serving as Chairman-COSC with no fixed tenure; however, since 2020, the mantle of the COSC's chairmanship is held by the Chief of the Defence Staff, a separate office that functions independent of the service chiefs. [8]
The current membership of the Chiefs of Staff Committee:
Office | Photograph | Incumbent | Incumbent since | Service | Command Flag |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chief of Defence Staff (Permanent Chairman) | ![]() | General | September 2022 [9] | ![]() | ![]() |
Chief of the Army Staff | ![]() | General | June 2024 [10] | ![]() | ![]() |
Chief of the Naval Staff | ![]() | Admiral | April 2024 [11] | ![]() | ![]() |
Chief of the Air Staff | ![]() | Air Chief Marshal | September 2024 [12] | ![]() | ![]() |
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Non-voting member) | ![]() | Lieutenant General | April 2023 [13] | ![]() | ![]() |
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the principal military authority and senior-most appointment of the Indian Armed Forces. [14] Introduced in 2019, the CDS operates on a status of primus inter pares i.e., first among equals with the Chiefs of Staff and functions as the COSC's Permanent Chairman, independent of the Chiefs of Staff. [15]
As Permanent Chairman-COSC, the CDS maintains the following responsibilities within the forum:
The service chiefs (also referred to as the Chiefs of Staff) of the three services are, namely, the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) and Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) - all of whom are customarily four-star officers. [19]
As voting members of the COSC, the Chiefs of Staff function in the undermentioned manner:
However, their mandate of the Chiefs of Staff are not formally defined by statute, and are obfuscated by the undermentioned:
In addition to its aforementioned core members, the COSC's functioning is supported by the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), which functions as the COSC's principal arm and secretariat. [23] The IDS, which by role also acts as an inter-service interface for coordinating the armed services, is led by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) - a three-star officer, who is a non-voting member of the COSC. [3] Functionally, the CISC operates with the unofficial role of vice-CDS, to act as an adjudicator towards fostering inter-service coordination between the Service Headquarters (SHQ) of the three services. [24] [23]
To support the Chairman-COSC, the CISC undertakes the following roles:
Before India's attainment of independence in 1947, the military organization in the then-British Raj had been constituted as a theatre of operations, wherein the policymaking for the colony's defence affairs emanated from the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID), which oversaw the formulation of military strategy for the overall British Empire. [5] Following the dissolution of the Raj, India's inaugural Governor-General, Lord Mountbatten, sought to establish an administrative structure for the management of the armed forces of the new country. [5] Consequently, Mountbatten selected his chief of staff, Lord Ismay, to execute the task. [5]
Ismay, in his own stead, had spent a significant portion of his military career as a staff officer: he had served in the CID in a secretarial role during the 1920s-1930s with the responsibility of military planning, and had later served on the British Chiefs of Staff Committee during the Second World War; these postings thus allowed him to gain rich expertise in defence administration and subsequently, Mountbatten's choice. [25]
As such, Ismay formulated a practical model for India's higher defence management, comprising a three-tier higher defence organization:
The COSC, which formed the third-tier of Ismay's formula, consisted of three Chiefs of Staff, who would serve as professional advisors to the civilian government wherein their mandate was to render guidance on military planning and operational matters. The COSC, which would come to be a part of the Military Wing of the Cabinet Secretariat, was thus to be led by the Chiefs of Staff on a rotational basis, with the senior-most Chief serving as Chairman-COSC. [26]
Additionally, Ismay formulated a series of several sub-committees that would address the functioning of the COSC and coordination between the three services, staff both by civil servants and uniformed officers; some of them were:
† Died in office.
No. | Portrait | Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | General Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart KCB CIE MC (1893–1981) | 15 August 1947 | 31 December 1947 | 138 days | ![]() | [1] [27] | |
2 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE , CB , AFC , DL (1895–1982) | 31 December 1947 | 22 February 1950 | 2 years, 53 days | ![]() ![]() | [27] [28] | |
3 | Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB (1893–1970) | 22 February 1950 | 13 October 1951 | 1 year, 233 days | ![]() | [27] | |
4 | General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa OBE (1899–1993) | 14 October 1951 | 14 January 1953 | 1 year, 92 days | ![]() | [1] | |
5 | Admiral Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey KBE CB DSO* (1899–1993) | 14 January 1953 | 22 July 1955 | 2 years, 189 days | ![]() | ||
6 | Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (1911–1960) | 22 July 1955 | 8 November 1960† | 5 years, 109 days | ![]() | [29] | |
7 | General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya DSO (1906–1965) | 9 November 1960 | 7 May 1961 | 179 days | ![]() | [30] | |
8 | Vice Admiral Ram Dass Katari (1911–1983) | 7 May 1961 | 4 June 1962 | 1 year, 28 days | ![]() | [31] | |
9 | Air Marshal Aspy Marwan Engineer DFC (1912–2002) | 4 June 1962 | 24 July 1964 | 2 years, 50 days | ![]() | [32] | |
10 | Vice Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (1913–1995) | 24 July 1964 | 3 March 1966 | 1 year, 222 days | ![]() | [32] | |
11 | General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri OBE (1908–1983) | 3 March 1966 | 7 June 1966 | 96 days | ![]() | [30] | |
12 | Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh DFC (1919–2017) | 8 June 1966 | 15 July 1969 | 3 years, 37 days | ![]() | [33] [34] | |
13 | Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji PVSM (1914–2001) | 15 July 1969 | 24 February 1970 | 224 days | ![]() | [27] | |
14 | Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw MC (1914–2008) | 24 February 1970 | 15 January 1973 | 2 years, 326 days | ![]() | [30] | |
15 | General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor PVSM (1916–1989) | 15 January 1973 | 31 May 1975 | 2 years, 136 days | ![]() | [35] [1] | |
16 | Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra PVSM (1919–2015) | 31 May 1975 | 31 January 1976 | 245 days | ![]() | [1] | |
17 | Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM (1916–2007) | 31 January 1976 | 29 February 1976 | 2 years, 326 days | ![]() | [1] | |
18 | General Tapishwar Narain Raina MVC (1921–1980) | 29 February 1976 | 31 May 1978 | 2 years, 92 days | ![]() | [36] | |
19 | Air Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar PVSM , MVC (1920–2015) | 1 June 1978 | 30 August 1978 | 90 days | ![]() | [37] | |
20 | Admiral Jal Cursetji PVSM (1919–1991) | 30 August 1978 | 1 March 1979 | 183 days | ![]() | . | |
21 | General Om Prakash Malhotra PVSM (1922–2015) | 1 March 1979 | 31 May 1981 | 2 years, 91 days | ![]() | [38] | |
22 | Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif PVSM (1923–2018) | 1 June 1981 | 30 August 1981 | 90 days | ![]() | [39] [40] | |
23 | Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira PVSM , AVSM (1923–1993) | 1 September 1981 | 26 February 1982 | 178 days | ![]() | [40] [41] | |
24 | General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao PVSM (1923–2016) | 1 March 1982 | 31 July 1983 | 1 year, 152 days | ![]() | [42] | |
25 | Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh PVSM , AVSM , VM (1926–2001) | 1 August 1983 | 5 September 1984 | 1 year, 35 days | ![]() | [43] [44] | |
26 | Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson PVSM , AVSM (1923–2011) | 5 September 1984 | 30 November 1984 | 86 days | ![]() | [44] | |
27 | General Arun Shridhar Vaidya PVSM, MVC & Bar, AVSM (1926–1986) | 1 December 1984 | 31 January 1986 | 1 year, 61 days | ![]() | [45] [46] | |
28 | Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani PVSM , AVSM (1930–2015) | 1 February 1986 | 30 November 1987 | 1 year, 302 days | ![]() | [47] [48] | |
29 | Air Chief Marshal Denis La Fontaine PVSM , AVSM , VSM (1929–2011) | 1 December 1987 | 31 July 1988 | 182 days | ![]() | [49] | |
30 | Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni PVSM , AVSM , NM , VSM (1931–2018) | 1 August 1988 | 30 November 1990 | 2 years, 121 days | ![]() | [49] [50] | |
31 | Air Chief Marshal Surinder Mehra PVSM , AVSM , VM (1932–2003) | 1 December 1990 | 31 July 1991 | 242 days | ![]() | [51] | |
32 | General Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM , VSM (1933–2022) | 1 August 1991 | 30 June 1993 | 1 year, 333 days | ![]() | [51] | |
33 | Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM , AVSM , VrC , VSM (1933–2024) | 30 June 1993 | 30 September 1993 | 92 days | ![]() | [52] | |
34 | General Bipin Chandra Joshi PVSM , AVSM (1935–1994) | 1 October 1993 | 18 November 1994† | 1 year, 48 days | ![]() | . | |
35 | Air Chief Marshal Swaroop Krishna Kaul PVSM , MVC (born 1935) | 20 November 1994 | 31 December 1995 | 1 year, 41 days | ![]() | [53] | |
36 | Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat PVSM , AVSM , VrC (born 1933) | 31 December 1995 | 30 September 1996 | 274 days | ![]() | [54] | |
37 | General Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM (born 1937) | 1 October 1996 | 30 September 1997 | 364 days | ![]() | [55] [56] | |
38 | Air Chief Marshal Satish Sareen PVSM , AVSM , VM (born 1939) | 1 October 1997 | 31 December 1998 | 1 year, 91 days | ![]() | [56] [57] | |
39 | General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM , AVSM (born 1939) | 1 January 1999 | 30 September 2000 | 1 year, 273 days | ![]() | [58] [59] | |
40 | Admiral Sushil Kumar PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , NM (1940–2019) | 1 October 2000 | 29 December 2001 | 1 year, 89 days | ![]() | [59] [60] | |
41 | General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM , AVSM , VSM (1940–2024) | 30 December 2001 | 31 December 2002 | 1 year, 1 day | ![]() | [61] [62] | |
42 | Admiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM , AVSM | 31 December 2002 | 31 July 2004 | 1 year, 213 days | ![]() | [62] | |
43 | Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM, AVSM, VM & bar (born 1943) | 31 July 2004 | 29 December 2004 | 151 days | ![]() | [63] | |
44 | General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM , UYSM , AVSM (born 1943) | 30 December 2004 | 30 January 2005 | 31 days | ![]() | [63] | |
45 | Admiral Arun Prakash PVSM , AVSM , VrC , VSM (born 1944) | 31 January 2005 | 31 October 2006 | 1 year, 273 days | ![]() | [63] | |
46 | Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM , AVSM , VM (born 1945) | 31 October 2006 | 31 March 2007 | 151 days | ![]() | . | |
47 | General Joginder Jaswant Singh PVSM , AVSM , VSM (born 1945) | 31 March 2007 | 30 September 2007 | 183 days | ![]() | . | |
48 | Admiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM , AVSM (born 1947) | 30 September 2007 | 31 August 2009 | 1 year, 335 days | ![]() | . | |
49 | General Deepak Kapoor PVSM , AVSM , SM , VSM (born 1948) | 31 August 2009 | 31 March 2010 | 212 days | ![]() | . | |
50 | Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik PVSM , VSM (born 1949) | 31 March 2010 | 30 July 2011 | 1 year, 121 days | ![]() | [64] | |
51 | Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma PVSM , AVSM (born 1949) | 30 July 2011 | 31 August 2012 | 1 year, 32 days | ![]() | [65] | |
52 | Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne PVSM , AVSM , VM (born 1951) | 31 August 2012 | 31 December 2013 | 1 year, 122 days | ![]() | . | |
53 | General Bikram Singh PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , SM , VSM (born 1951) | 31 December 2013 | 31 July 2014 | 212 days | ![]() | [66] | |
54 | Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha PVSM , AVSM , VM (born 1954) | 31 July 2014 | 31 December 2016 | 2 years, 153 days | ![]() | . | |
55 | Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM , AVSM (born 1957) | 31 December 2016 | 31 May 2019 | 2 years, 151 days | ![]() | [67] | |
56 | Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM , AVSM , YSM , VM (born 1957) | 31 May 2019 | 27 September 2019 | 119 days | ![]() | [68] | |
57 | General Bipin Rawat PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , YSM , SM , VSM (1958–2021) | 27 September 2019 [a] | 8 December 2021† | 2 years, 72 days | ![]() | [70] | |
Vacant 8–15 December 2021 | |||||||
– | General Manoj Mukund Naravane PVSM , AVSM , SM , VSM , ADC (born 1960) Acting | 15 December 2021 | 30 April 2022 | 136 days | ![]() | [71] | |
Vacant 30 April 2022 – 30 September 2022 | |||||||
58 | General Anil Chauhan PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , SM , VSM (born 1961) | 30 September 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 192 days | ![]() |