New Delhi: India is likely to have by January its first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his August 15 address to the nation from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort with the three Service Chiefs recommending names of their senior-most commanders for the post while Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is a front-runner for it.

A high-level committee headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is wrapping up the ground work to appoint the single-point military adviser to the Government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999.

The top position is being created to enhance synergy among the three Services in dealing with security challenges facing India.

Days after the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an Implementation Committee headed by National Security Adviser Doval was appointed to finalise an enabling framework and determine the exact responsibilities for the CDS. The committee has completed the ground work and would come out with the final framework in three weeks, sources said.

General Rawat is due for retirement on December 31 and top Government sources said, if everything goes according to plan, then the Government would name him as the country’s first CDS before he hangs up his boot. The sources said that the CDS will be a Four-Star General and will be the first among equals of the Service chiefs. However, in the list of protocol, the CDS will be higher in rank than the Service chiefs.

The main task of the CDS will be to ensure jointmanship among the three Services which will include powers to work on setting up of few theatre commands as well as to allocate military assets among the Services to synergise their operations. The three Services have already put across their views before the Doval-led panel on ways to synergise military operations and their expectations as well as recommendations on what should be the broad contours of the CDS.