Not ready for CDS: Air chief marshal PV Naik

Chairman of chiefs of staff committee, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, on Wednesday said the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was not acceptable in its present format, and that the concept required national debate and he saw it coming at least 10 years later.

CDS has always been a hotly debated issue within the ministry of defence and the armed forces. It was one of the recommendations of a group of ministers (GoM), post Kargil, when the need for joint-manship and synergy between armed forces was felt, resulting in the Andaman and Nicobar Command on an experimental basis.

The CDS would be a one-point contact for the government on all matters pertaining to security. It was supposed to give advice on strategic issues and national security. But there have been differences of opinion among political parties, the armed forces and the ministry-bureaucracy setup on the creation of a CDS.