Chiefs of Staff Committee
Crest of the Chairman-Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Founded	15 August 1947[1]
Country	India
Branch	Armed forces
Type	Military staff
Part of	Indian Armed Forces
Headquarters	Ministry of Defence,New Delhi,India
Website	www.india.gov.in
Commanders
Chairman	GeneralAnil Chauhan PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM
Notable commanders	Chief of the Air StaffSubroto Mukerjee OBE Field MarshalSam Manekshaw MC GeneralBipin Rawat PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC
Insignia
Abbreviation	COSC

TheChiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is an administrative forum of the senior-most military leaders of theIndian Armed Forces, which advises theGovernment of India on all military and strategic matters deemed privy tomilitary coordination,direction andpolicy between the country's three armed services.^[2] By organization, the COSC is comprised several key members, namely,Chief of Defence Staff - who acts as the Committee'sPermanent Chairman,along with theChief of the Army Staff, theChief of the Naval Staff and theChief of the Air Staff - all of whom are also additionally supported by theChief of Integrated Defence Staff.^[3]

By function, the COSC has two principal responsibilities: one, to inculcate and implement jointness through integration of,inter alia, the doctrine, logistics, and operations of the three armed services; two, to apprise to the nation'scivilian leadership i.e., thePrime Minister andMinister of Defence, on all matters related to the nation's security.^[4] As such, it exists primarily as an advisory body, endowed with no executive command authority.^[5]

To execute its mandate, the COSC is closely supported by theIntegrated Defence Staff (IDS) and other inter-service bodies under its patronage that specialize in facets such as intelligence, personnel, operations and training.^[6] Comparably, the forum is identical to theUnited Kingdom'sChiefs of Staff Committee andPakistan'sJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee.^[7]

From 1947 to 2019, and briefly from 2021 to 2022 - the leadership of the COSC was rotated amongst the service chiefs (or Chiefs of Staff) of the three armed services, with the senior-most chief serving as Chairman-COSC with no fixed tenure; however, since 2020, the mantle of the COSC's chairmanship is held by the Chief of the Defence Staff, a separate office that functions independent of the service chiefs.^[8]

The current membership of the Chiefs of Staff Committee:

Office	Photograph	Incumbent	Incumbent since	Service	Command Flag
Chief of Defence Staff (Permanent Chairman)		General Anil Chauhan PVSM UYSM AVSM SM VSM	30 September 2022[9]	Indian Army
Chief of the Army Staff		General Upendra Dwivedi PVSM AVSM	30 June 2024[10]	Indian Army
Chief of the Naval Staff		Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi PVSM AVSM NM	30 April 2024[11]	Indian Navy
Chief of the Air Staff		Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh PVSM AVSM	30 September 2024[12]	Indian Air Force
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Non-voting member)		Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit AVSMVMVSM	1 May 2025[13]	Indian Air Force

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is theprincipal military authority andsenior-most appointment of the Indian Armed Forces.^[14]Introduced in 2019, the CDS operates on a status ofprimus inter pares i.e.,first among equals with the Chiefs of Staff and functions as the COSC'sPermanent Chairman, independent of the Chiefs of Staff.^[15]

As Permanent Chairman-COSC, the CDS maintains the following responsibilities within the forum:

• Acting as the principal military advisor to theMinister of Defence on all affairs related to inter-service integration, coherence and functioning.^[16]
• Participating as a member of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Minister of Defence and Defence Planning Committee chaired byNational Security Advisor.^[17]
• Exercising command authority over specific inter-service organizations/agencies/commands, namely, theDefence Cyber Agency (DCyA), theDefence Space Agency and theArmed Forces Special Operations Division vis-à-vis theIntegrated Defence Staff (IDS).^[18]
• Functioning as the Military Adviser to theNuclear Command Authority.^[17]

The service chiefs (also referred to as the Chiefs of Staff) of the three services are, namely, theChief of the Army Staff (COAS), theChief of the Naval Staff (CNS) andChief of the Air Staff (CAS) - all of whom are customarilyfour-star officers.^[19]

As voting members of the COSC, the Chiefs of Staff function in the undermentioned manner:

• Functioning with thedual role of leadership as the service's statutorychief of staff and activity as itsex-officio commander i.e., in the former role, overseeing the staff-cum-administrative duties of the services; in the latter role, overseeing the service's operational duties.^[20]
• Advising the COSC and the civilian leadership on matters privy to their respective services; this is in contrast to the CDS, whose advice reflects a comprehensive nature involving multiple, rather than concerned inputs.^[21]
• Deliberating inter-service issues to foster joint-realization of the country's national security objectives.^[19]

However, their mandate of the Chiefs of Staff are not formally defined by statute, and are obfuscated by the undermentioned:

• TheOrganisation, Functions, Powers and Procedure of Defence Headquarters, 1952 defines the Service Headquarters (SHQ) i.e., the administrative centers of the three services asattached offices, which by statute, excludes them from the departmental structure of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).^[22]
• The(Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, which defines the authority, responsibility and obligations of government departments, prescribes that the responsibility for thedefence of India thereof is placed with the Defence Secretary; there is no mention of the Chiefs of Staffs or their respective SHQs.^[22]

In addition to its aforementioned core members, the COSC's functioning is supported by theIntegrated Defence Staff (IDS), which functions as the COSC's principal arm and secretariat.^[23] The IDS, which by role also acts as an inter-service interface for coordinating the armed services, is led by theChief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) - athree-star officer, who is a non-voting member of the COSC.^[3] Functionally, the CISC operates with the unofficial role ofvice-CDS, to act as an adjudicator towards fostering inter-service coordination between the Service Headquarters (SHQ) of the three services.^[24][23]

To support the Chairman-COSC, the CISC undertakes the following roles:

• Chair the Defence Crisis Management Group.^[6]
• Supervise the co-ordination of Long Range Plans, Five Years Plans and annual budgetary proposals for the three services and presenting coordinated set of proposals to Minister of Defence after discussion with Chiefs of Staff in COSC and Defence Secretary.^[6]
• Coordinating and analyzing critical deficiencies in force capabilities, assessing the impact of such deficiencies on national military objectives.^[6]

BeforeIndia's attainment of independence in 1947, the military organization in the then-British Raj had been constituted as atheatre of operations, wherein the policymaking for the colony's defence affairs emanated from theCommittee of Imperial Defence (CID), which oversaw the formulation of military strategy for the overallBritish Empire.^[5] Following the dissolution of the Raj, India's inauguralGovernor-General,Lord Mountbatten, sought to establish an administrative structure for the management of the armed forces of the new country.^[5] Consequently, Mountbatten selected his chief of staff,Lord Ismay, to execute the task.^[5]

Ismay, in his own stead, had spent a significant portion of his military career as astaff officer: he had served in the CID in a secretarial role during the 1920s-1930s with the responsibility ofmilitary planning, and had later served on the BritishChiefs of Staff Committee during theSecond World War; these postings thus allowed him to gain rich expertise in defence administration and subsequently, Mountbatten's choice.^[25]

As such, Ismay formulated a practical model for India's higher defence management, comprising a three-tier higher defence organization:

• Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC), chaired by the Prime Minister.^[24]
• Defence Minister's Committee (DMC), chaired by the Defence Minister.^[24]
• Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), as part of the Military Wing of the Cabinet Secretariat.^[24]

The COSC, which formed the third-tier of Ismay's formula, consisted of three Chiefs of Staff, who would serve as professional advisors to the civilian government wherein their mandate was to render guidance on military planning and operational matters. The COSC, which would come to be a part of the Military Wing of theCabinet Secretariat, was thus to be led by the Chiefs of Staff on a rotational basis, with the senior-most Chief serving as Chairman-COSC.^[26]

Additionally, Ismay formulated a series of several sub-committees that would address the functioning of the COSC and coordination between the three services, staff both by civil servants and uniformed officers; some of them were:

• Joint Operation Committee (JOCOM).^[26]
• Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).^[26]
• Joint Training Committee (JTC).^[26]
• Joint Planning Committee (JPC).^[26]

† Died in office.

No.	Portrait	Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Lockhart, RobGeneral Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart KCB CIE MC (1893–1981)	15 August 1947	31 December 1947	138 days	Indian Army	[1][27]
2		Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE, CB, AFC, DL (1895–1982)	31 December 1947	22 February 1950	2 years, 53 days	Royal Indian Air Force  Indian Air Force	[27][28]
3		Parry, EdwardAdmiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB (1893–1970)	22 February 1950	13 October 1951	1 year, 233 days	Indian Navy	[27]
4		Cariappa, K MGeneral Kodandera Madappa Cariappa OBE (1899–1993)	14 October 1951	14 January 1953	1 year, 92 days	Indian Army	[1]
5		Pizey, CharlesAdmiral Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey KBE CB DSO* (1899–1993)	14 January 1953	22 July 1955	2 years, 189 days	Indian Navy
6		Mukerjee, SubrotoAir Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (1911–1960)	22 July 1955	8 November 1960†	5 years, 109 days	Indian Air Force	[29]
7		Thimayya, K SGeneral Kodandera Subayya Thimayya DSO (1906–1965)	9 November 1960	7 May 1961	179 days	Indian Army	[30]
8		Katari, Ram DassVice Admiral Ram Dass Katari (1911–1983)	7 May 1961	4 June 1962	1 year, 28 days	Indian Navy	[31]
9		Engineer, AspyAir Marshal Aspy Marwan Engineer DFC (1912–2002)	4 June 1962	24 July 1964	2 years, 50 days	Indian Air Force	[32]
10		Soman, Bhaskar SadashivVice Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (1913–1995)	24 July 1964	3 March 1966	1 year, 222 days	Indian Navy	[32]
11		Chaudhuri, Jayanto NathGeneral Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri OBE (1908–1983)	3 March 1966	7 June 1966	96 days	Indian Army	[30]
12		Singh, ArjanMarshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh DFC (1919–2017)	8 June 1966	15 July 1969	3 years, 37 days	Indian Air Force	[33][34]
13		Chatterji, Adhar KumarAdmiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji PVSM (1914–2001)	15 July 1969	24 February 1970	224 days	Indian Navy	[27]
14		Manekshaw, SamField Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw MC (1914–2008)	24 February 1970	15 January 1973	2 years, 326 days	Indian Army	[30]
15		Bewoor, GopalGeneral Gopal Gurunath Bewoor PVSM (1916–1989)	15 January 1973	31 May 1975	2 years, 136 days	Indian Army	[35][1]
16		Mehra, Om PrakashAir Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra PVSM (1919–2015)	31 May 1975	31 January 1976	245 days	Indian Air Force	[1]
17		Kohli, Sourendra NathAdmiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM (1916–2007)	31 January 1976	29 February 1976	2 years, 326 days	Indian Navy	[1]
18		Raina, TapishwarGeneral Tapishwar Narain Raina MVC (1921–1980)	29 February 1976	31 May 1978	2 years, 92 days	Indian Army	[36]
19		Moolgavkar, HrushikeshAir Chief Marshal Hrushikesh Moolgavkar PVSM, MVC (1920–2015)	1 June 1978	30 August 1978	90 days	Indian Air Force	[37]
20		Cursetji, JalAdmiral Jal Cursetji PVSM (1919–1991)	30 August 1978	1 March 1979	183 days	Indian Navy	.
21		Malhotra, Om PrakashGeneral Om Prakash Malhotra PVSM (1922–2015)	1 March 1979	31 May 1981	2 years, 91 days	Indian Army	[38]
22		Latif, IdrisAir Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif PVSM (1923–2018)	1 June 1981	30 August 1981	90 days	Indian Air Force	[39][40]
23		Pereira, RonaldAdmiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira PVSM, AVSM (1923–1993)	1 September 1981	26 February 1982	178 days	Indian Navy	[40][41]
24		Rao, KrishnaGeneral Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao PVSM (1923–2016)	1 March 1982	31 July 1983	1 year, 152 days	Indian Army	[42]
25		Singh, DilbaghAir Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh PVSM, AVSM, VM (1926–2001)	1 August 1983	5 September 1984	1 year, 35 days	Indian Air Force	[43][44]
26		Dawson, OscarAdmiral Oscar Stanley Dawson PVSM, AVSM (1923–2011)	5 September 1984	30 November 1984	86 days	Indian Navy	[44]
27		Vaidya, ArunGeneral Arun Shridhar Vaidya PVSM,MVC& Bar,AVSM (1926–1986)	1 December 1984	31 January 1986	1 year, 61 days	Indian Army	[45][46]
28		Tahiliani, RadhakrishnaAdmiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani PVSM, AVSM (1930–2015)	1 February 1986	30 November 1987	1 year, 302 days	Indian Navy	[47][48]
29		La Fontaine, DenisAir Chief Marshal Denis La Fontaine PVSM, AVSM, VSM (1929–2011)	1 December 1987	31 July 1988	182 days	Indian Air Force	[49]
30		Nadkarni, JayantAdmiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM (1931–2018)	1 August 1988	30 November 1990	2 years, 121 days	Indian Navy	[49][50]
31		Mehra, SurinderAir Chief Marshal Surinder Mehra PVSM, AVSM, VM (1932–2003)	1 December 1990	31 July 1991	242 days	Indian Air Force	[51]
32		Rodrigues, SunithGeneral Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM, VSM (1933–2022)	1 August 1991	30 June 1993	1 year, 333 days	Indian Army	[51]
33		Ramdas, LaxminarayanAdmiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (1933–2024)	30 June 1993	30 September 1993	92 days	Indian Navy	[52]
34		Joshi, BipinGeneral Bipin Chandra Joshi PVSM, AVSM (1935–1994)	1 October 1993	18 November 1994†	1 year, 48 days	Indian Army	.
35		Kaul, SwaroopAir Chief Marshal Swaroop Krishna Kaul PVSM, MVC (born 1935)	20 November 1994	31 December 1995	1 year, 41 days	Indian Air Force	[53]
36		Shekhawat, Vijai SinghAdmiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat PVSM, AVSM, VrC (born 1933)	31 December 1995	30 September 1996	274 days	Indian Navy	[54]
37		Roychowdhury, ShankarGeneral Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM (born 1937)	1 October 1996	30 September 1997	364 days	Indian Army	[55][56]
38		Sareen, SatishAir Chief Marshal Satish Sareen PVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1939)	1 October 1997	31 December 1998	1 year, 91 days	Indian Air Force	[56][57]
39		Malik, VedGeneral Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM (born 1939)	1 January 1999	30 September 2000	1 year, 273 days	Indian Army	[58][59]
40		Kumar, SushilAdmiral Sushil Kumar PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, NM (1940–2019)	1 October 2000	29 December 2001	1 year, 89 days	Indian Navy	[59][60]
41		Padmanabhan, SundararajanGeneral Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (1940–2024)	30 December 2001	31 December 2002	1 year, 1 day	Indian Army	[61][62]
42		Singh, MadhvendraAdmiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM, AVSM	31 December 2002	31 July 2004	1 year, 213 days	Indian Navy	[62]
43		Krishnaswamy, SrinivasapuramAir Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM,AVSM,VM& bar (born 1943)	31 July 2004	29 December 2004	151 days	Indian Air Force	[63]
44		Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (born 1943)	30 December 2004	30 January 2005	31 days	Indian Army	[63]
45		Prakash, ArunAdmiral Arun Prakash PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (born 1944)	31 January 2005	31 October 2006	1 year, 273 days	Indian Navy	[63]
46		Tyagi, Shashindra PalAir Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1945)	31 October 2006	31 March 2007	151 days	Indian Air Force	.
47		Singh, Joginder JaswantGeneral Joginder Jaswant Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM (born 1945)	31 March 2007	30 September 2007	183 days	Indian Army	.
48		Mehta, SureeshAdmiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM, AVSM (born 1947)	30 September 2007	31 August 2009	1 year, 335 days	Indian Navy	.
49		Kapoor, DeepakGeneral Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (born 1948)	31 August 2009	31 March 2010	212 days	Indian Army	.
50		Naik, PradeepAir Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik PVSM, VSM (born 1949)	31 March 2010	30 July 2011	1 year, 121 days	Indian Air Force	[64]
51		Naik, PradeepAdmiral Nirmal Kumar Verma PVSM, AVSM (born 1949)	30 July 2011	31 August 2012	1 year, 32 days	Indian Navy	[65]
52		Browne, NormanAir Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne PVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1951)	31 August 2012	31 December 2013	1 year, 122 days	Indian Air Force	.
53		Singh, BikramGeneral Bikram Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (born 1951)	31 December 2013	31 July 2014	212 days	Indian Army	[66]
54		Raha, ArupAir Chief Marshal Arup Raha PVSM, AVSM, VM (born 1954)	31 July 2014	31 December 2016	2 years, 153 days	Indian Air Force	.
55		Raha, ArupAdmiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM (born 1957)	31 December 2016	31 May 2019	2 years, 151 days	Indian Navy	[67]
56		Dhanoa, Birender SinghAir Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM (born 1957)	31 May 2019	27 September 2019	119 days	Indian Air Force	[68]
57		Rawat, BipinGeneral Bipin Rawat PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM (1958–2021)	27 September 2019[a]	8 December 2021†	2 years, 72 days	Indian Army	[70]
Vacant 8–15 December 2021
–		Naravane, Manoj MukundGeneral Manoj Mukund Naravane PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1960) Acting	15 December 2021	30 April 2022	136 days	Indian Army	[71]
Vacant 30 April 2022 – 30 September 2022
58		Chauhan, AnilGeneral Anil Chauhan PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (born 1961)	30 September 2022	Incumbent	3 years, 141 days	Indian Army

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