Context:
India’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) on an Official visit to France
Chief of Defence Staff:
- Established in – 2020
- Objective – To provide effective leadership at the top level to the 3 wings of the armed forces and to help improve coordination among them
- Recommended by – Kargil Review Committee in 2001 and Naresh Chandra committee in 2012.
- Functions –
- Acts as the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which will also have 3 service chiefs as members.
- Head the Department of Military Affairs (DoMA) in the Ministry of Defence.
- Single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister on matters involving all 3 services
- Vested with the authority to provide directives to the 3 chiefs.
- However, he does not enjoy any command authority over any of the forces.
- Perform an advisory role in the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
- India’s 1st Chief of Defence Staff – Gen. Bipin Rawat
Nuclear Command Authority:
- Authority responsible for command, control and operational decisions regarding India’s nuclear weapons programme.
- Comprises – Political Council and Executive Council.
- Political Council – Chaired by the Prime Minister and is the sole body which can authorise the use of nuclear weapons.
- Executive Council – Chaired by the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, provides inputs for decision making by the NCA and executes the directives given to it by the Political Council
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
Which one of the following is the best description of ‘INS Astradharini’, that was in the news recently?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) Amphibious warfare ship
(b) Nuclear-powered submarine
(c) Torpedo launch and recovery vessel
(d) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Answer: (c)
