Army sends proposal to MoD, seeks creation of new post of deputy Chief of Army Staff

Indian Army has sent the proposal to the Ministry of Defence.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has sent a fresh proposal to the Ministry of Defence for creating a new Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCoAS) and two other posts of  Additional Director General (ADG), Vigilance and Additional Director General (ADG), Human Right Violations.

The proposal, which has been sent to the MoD, needs approval from the Union Cabinet. 

As per the proposal, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategic Planning) would head Directorate of Military Intelligence, Directorate of Military Operation and newly created Information Warfare branch.

It may be recalled that there are already two existing Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information System and Training) and Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Planning and System).

This comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government is expected to announce the name of the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) soon, and also the country’s first four-star Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) - a decision the armed forces have been waiting with bated breath amid all the speculation.

According to reports, the names of three top contenders for the post of COAS have been sent to the Prime Minister for final selection.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, who is due to retire on December 31, is tipped to become the first CDS -  the sole adviser to the government on all three services.

As per sources, the name of the CDS and the new Army Chief is likely to be announced at least two weeks before Gen Rawat’s retirement.

The officers who are the frontrunners for the post of CoAS are Vice-Chief Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Satinder Kumar Saini.

Lt Gen Naravane, who has also served as the Eastern Army Commander and Commander of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), is the senior-most among the three.