Cabinet gives nod for chief of defence staff

Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Pic /PTI

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday approved the creation of a chief of defence staff (CDS) who will be the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999, officials said. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar added that a department of military affairs headed by the CDS will be created under the defence ministry.

The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs, the minister said. Officials said the CCS also approved the report of a high-level committee, headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, which finalised responsibilities and the enabling framework for the CDS, they said. "The cabinet has approved the creation of the post of chief of defence staff. The CDS will be a four-star general who will also head the department of military affairs.

The department will be created under Defence Ministry and the CDS will function as its secretary. His salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs," Javadekar said at a media briefing. The government is likely to appoint the country's first CDS in the next few days.

Restructuring of Rly Board cleared

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the restructuring of the Railway Board by downsizing its strength from eight to five including the chairperson, and merging its different cadres into a single Railway Management System, sources said. Railways will now have only one cadre - Indian Railway Service, instead of current eight services for various departments including Engineering, Traffic Mechanical and Electrical.

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