For all the anticipatory hype around the elevation of General Bipin Rawat as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the bitter truth is, it will not help in war preparedness. The CDS is likely to prepare the military to fight the wrong enemy, the wrong war with wrong procurements, training and mindset. While it might help the Modi government politically, it would make India weak militarily.

As CDS, Gen. Rawat would head the newly-created Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the fifth department in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The other four being the department of defence, the department of research and development, the department of production and supplies, and the department of finance. The defence secretary will coordinate the activities of all five departments. Moreover, under the Government of India Rules of Business 1961, he will continue to be responsible for the defence of India.

By making a four-star and not a five-star CDS (as was recommended by the 2002 Group of Ministers report headed by deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani), the Modi government has (a) ensured civilian control of defence ministry (b) obviated (unfounded) fear of military coup by a powerful CDS (c) fulfilled long-standing demand of CDS and (d) retained Gen. Rawat, a politically useful general who values perception management over actual capabilities.

The twin-hatter CDS — as head of the Integrated Defence Headquarters (IDHQs) and permanent Chairman of the Chiefs Of Staff Committee (COSC) —, Gen Rawat will have four jobs. One, he will be answerable to the defence minister, like other secretaries in the MoD, along with the defence secretary. Two, on the military side, as head of the COSC, he would be first amongst equals whose advise would be binding on the Services’ chiefs. Three, he would do all that IDHQs had been doing – raised in September 2001, the IDHQs had come a long way doing a range of tasks including procurements — better with his raised status and authority.