Who is Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and what is his importance to India?

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter with 14 persons including Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat crashed at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, on Wednesday, December 8. Search and rescue operation is underway.

As per latest reports, CDS Gen Rawat has been taken to the hospital along with two others. There have been five confirmed casualties in the accident.

In a statement, the IAF said, "An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident."

Who is Gen Bipin Rawat?

General Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC, is an alumnus of St Edward's School, Shimla and the National Defence Academy. He was commissioned on 16 Dec 1978 into the Fifth Battalion of the Eleventh Gorkha Rifles of the Infantry, the Battalion which was Commanded by his father.

While graduating from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he was awarded the coveted 'Sword of Honour'. The General has a vast operational experience, having served across a wide spectrum of combat and conflict situations.

He has commanded an Infantry Battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector and a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in the Kashmir Valley. Soon thereafter, he went on to Command a Multinational Brigade in a Chapter VII Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He was assigned to Command an Infantry Division along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and was Corps Commander in the North-East. As an Army Commander, he was responsible to oversee operations in the Desert sector, along the Western front.

General Rawat has held several important instructional and staff appointments. These include instructional tenures at the Indian Military Academy (Dehradun) and at the Junior Command Wing as the Senior Instructor.

He was the General Staff Officer at Military Operations Directorate, the Colonel and later Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretary's Branch, the Major General General Staff of the Eastern Theatre and was also the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. The General was the Chief of the Army Staff from 31 Dec 2016 to 31 Dec 2019.

A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington) and the Command and General Staff Course, Fort Leavenworth (USA). He has attended the Higher Command Course at Mhow and is a graduate of the National Defence College, New Delhi. Academically inclined, the General has authored several articles on National Security and Military Leadership which have been published in various Journals and Publications. He also holds two diplomas in Management and in Computer Studies. The General was awarded the 'Doctorate of Philosophy' (Ph.D) for his research on 'Military Media Strategic Studies' by the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut.

For the distinguished service rendered and valour displayed over the span of over 42 years of his entire service career, General Bipin Rawat has been conferred several Presidential Awards which include the PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM and the VSM.

Besides these, he has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff Commendation on two occasions as also the Army Commander's Commendation. While serving with the UN in Congo, he was twice awarded the Force Commander's Commendation.

General Bipin Rawat was appointed India's first Chief of Defence Staff on 31 Dec 2019.

Gen Rawat's importance to India

As CDS, Gen Rawat is the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He is supported by the Integrated Defence Staff in this role.

As per the charter of duties, the CDS is also the member of the Nuclear Command Authority headed by the Prime Minister. The CDS acts as the Principal Military Adviser to Defence Minister on tri-Services matters.

Among the role and responsibilities of Gen Rawat as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), he administers tri-services organisations. Tri-services agencies/organizations/ commands related to Cyber and Space are under his command.

Gen Rawat provides integrated inputs of the services to relevant authorities. He is a member of Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning Committee.  

His entailed aligning operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs, and maintenance, etc. of the three services by within 3 years. He is tasked to ensure optimal utilization of infrastructure and rationalize it, and enhance the share of indigenous equipment.

Some of responsibilities of the CDS include:

• Evaluate plans for 'Out of Area Contingencies', as well as other contingencies such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief.
• Implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow-up of the Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP).
• Assign inter-Services prioritization to capital acquisition proposals based on the anticipated budget.
• Integrate and rationalise international cooperation plans.
• Prepare strategy papers on military matters for consideration of the competent authority.
• Bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces. This may, inter-alia; entail rationalization of facilities. Use of indigenous equipment across the whole spectrum. He will identify and end obsolete practices, which may have crept in due to the colonial legacy.
• Build trust and confidence in the rank and file.
• Prepare an empirical and objective report on annual achievements in jointness during the year for the defence minister.