 Seal of Integrated Defence Staff | |
 Flag of Integrated Defence Staff. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 23 November 2001; 23 years ago (2001-11-23) |
| Motto | Victory Through Jointness |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives | |
| Parent department | Ministry of Defence,Government of India |
| Child agencies | |
| Website | ids |
TheIntegrated Defence Staff (IDS) is an organisation responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritisation across the different branches of theIndian Armed Forces. It is composed of representatives from theIndian Army,Indian Navy,Indian Air Force,Ministry of External Affairs,Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),Ministry of Defence andMinistry of Finance. The IDS is headed byChief of Integrated Defence Staff along with Deputy Chiefs of Integrated Defence Staff. On December 24, 2019, theCabinet Committee on Security (CCS) established the post ofChief of Defence Staff, afour-star general, a tri-service Chief, that shall lead the defence forces as well as play the role of head of the Department of Military Affairs. The body advises and assists the Chief of Defence Staff.
Roles of the IDS includes facilitating the efficient functioning of multi-service bodies, providing secretarial and domain expertise to theMinister of Defence in all proposals of capital defence procurements[1] and providing the building of cooperation through intra-service deliberations for procurements, joint doctrines, joint training and common procedures.[2] TheDefence Cyber Agency, theDefence Space Agency,[3] theArmed Forces Special Operations Division and the Armed Force Strategic Missile/Rocket Command,[4][5][6][7] will function under the IDS.[8][9]
The colour of jointmanship of the three services is purple, hence, the term 'Purple Fraternity' is applied to their ranks.[3]
Post-independence, a military wing was created inside theCabinet Secretariat. The wing was later shifted to theMinistry of Defence. The wing was headed byJoint Secretary (Military), amajor general (or equivalent)-level officer, who was responsible for keeping theCabinet Secretary informed through theDefence Secretary about defence-related issues and had various other responsibilities including on coordination-related matters.[10]
The Defence Planning Staff was established under the Ministry of Defence in 1986 to provide assistance to the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Comprising representatives from theMinistry of External Affairs, theMinistry of Defence (including one scientist from theDefence Research and Development Organisation) and theMinistry of Finance, the organisation was headed by Director General Defence Planning Staff (DG DPS), aLieutenant general (or equivalent)-level position held in rotation by the three services, and had five divisions.[11] The DG DPS had the status of a vice chief of staff.[12]
After the Kargil War between India and Pakistan, theKargil Review Committee (KRC) was set up by theGovernment of India on 29 July 1999[13] under the chairpersonship of retiredIndian Administrative Service officer and former Defence Production Secretary,K. Subrahmanyam. The committee submitted its report to the prime minister,Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on 7 January 2000 and was tabled in theParliament of India on 23 February 2000.[14][15]
Following KRC's report, a group of ministers (GoM) was set up on 17 April 2000 to consider the recommendations in the Kargil Review Committee Report, as well as to review national security more thoroughly. The GoM consisted ofL. K. Advani,George Fernandes,Jaswant Singh,Yashwant Sinha, the ministers of home affairs, defence, external affairs and finance, respectively.Brajesh Mishra,National Security Advisor, was assigned as a special guest to the meetings of the GoM and theCabinet Secretariat (National Security Council Secretariat) provided any help required.[16] The GoM came out with its own report, "Reforming the National Security System".[17] The GoM report was submitted by them to Prime Minister Vajpayee on 26 February 2001.[18]
Pursuant to the recommendations of the KRC and GoM, as well as prior recommendations by theStanding Committee on Defence of the Parliament of India,[17] the Government of India constituted the Integrated Defence Staff under theMinistry of Defence through a notification on 23 November 2001.[19][20] The Defence Planning Staff and the Military Wing inside the Ministry of Defence were merged into IDS.[21]
IDS celebrates its raising day on 1 October every year, 2018 being the 18th.[3][22][23]
From 9 to 13 September 2024, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) will implement a Combined Operational Review and Evaluation (CORE) Programme. The senior officers of the tri-services will participate in the CORE programme to improve their abilities in strategic planning and operations. The goal of the programme, which is being held at the United Services Institution (USI), is to train senior military personnel for leadership positions in the future, according to theMinistry of Defence. It is intended for officers of the rankMajor General and equivalent officers from all three services, along with officers from the Ministry of Defence,Ministry of External Affairs, andMinistry of Home Affairs.[24][25][26]
The body is headed by theChief of Integrated Defence Staff who is Vice Chief of Staff rank level officer and is also Vice Chief of Defence Staff. It consists of various branches, divisions and directorates. The CIDS is assisted by designated deputy chiefs of integrated staff, who arelieutenant general (or equivalent)-level officers and head different branches. An assistant chief of integrated defence staff—major general (or equivalent)-level officer—heads a division whilst a deputy assistant chief of integrated staff heads a directorate. The organisation is staffed by officers and personnel from the three services, together with officials from theMinistry of External Affairs and the Defence Accounts Department and theDefence Research and Development Organisation of the Ministry of Defence.[27]
| Branch | Deputy chief responsible | Photo | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perspective Planning & Financial Development (PP & FD) | Vice AdmiralVineet McCarty,AVSM |  | [28] |
| Doctrine, Organisation and Training (DOT) | Lieutenant General Vipul Shinghal,AVSM, SM | ||
| Operations (Ops) | Air Marshal Rakesh SinhaAVSM, SM | [29] | |
| Intelligence (Defence Intelligence Agency) | Lieutenant General Shrinjay Pratap SinghAVSM, SM | ||
| Medical Branch | Air Marshal MS Sridhar | [30] |
The Headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) is located in New Delhi. The Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), its secretariat and certain other components are situated inSouth Block,Secretariat Building, New Delhi. The major portion of the HQ IDS is located inKashmir House, New Delhi. The HQ IDS functions as the secretariat to the chairman of COSC.[31]
The new HQ Integrated Defence Staff building complex is atMehram Nagar,Delhi Cantonment.[2]
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