General Bipin Rawat was given the guideline by the prime minister to achieve the integration of the three forces by the 75th year of India's Independence. This should be carried forward with utmost speed.
Bipin was the brightest among our coursemates and went on to become the first CDS of the country. I believe that all those who have known him and Madhulika will miss them very much, observes Lieutenant General Himalaya Singh (retd).
General Naravane has been given charge as the chairman of the committee as he is the senior-most among the three service chiefs.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
'Is the appointment of a CDS likely to achieve the creation of battle-ready, tri-service military commands, from the current 17 single-service commands?', asks Ajai Shukla.
According to the new rules, any serving or retired lieutenant general, air marshal and vice-admiral under the age of 62 years will be eligible for appointment to the post of CDS.
'Such actions are forbidden in the army.'
People pay their respects to the chief of defence staff and the 13 others who died in Wednesday's helicopter crash near Coonoor.
Their mortal remains are expected to arrive in the national capital in a military plane by Thursday evening, the sources said.
Condolences over the demise of chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from various countries, including the US, Russia and Pakistan.
'Xi is keen that the remaining three territories still outside the Chinese ambit -- Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Senkaku Islands in the East Sea -- be absorbed by the Communist regime by the time the centenary of the revolution rolls around in 2049.'
The person had on Facebook posted derogatory comments about Rawat and the crash and also linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to it, which went viral, police said.
Malayalam film director and Sangh Parivar fellow traveller Ali Akbar has announced that he and his wife were giving up Islam in protest against a section of social media users allegedly indulging in jubilation over the tragic death of Chief Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and his wife in a helicopter crash.
The chopper took off at 11.48 am from the Sulur Air Base and was reported to be missing at around 12.22 pm, sources informed.
Any serving or retired lieutenant general, air marshal and vice admiral under the age of 62 years will be eligible for the post of Chief of Defence Staff, according to notifications issued by the government.
Army sources indicate the first Integrated Battle Groups would come up in the plains of Jammu, Punjab, and Rajasthan, providing New Delhi instruments of retaliation in the event of grave provocation by Pakistan, such as a 26/11-style terrorist attack.
The mortal remains were brought to the Madras Regimental Centre where people paid floral tribute to General Rawat and other personnel.
Pakistan Army's spokesman in a short statement posted on Twitter said that Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed condolences.
General Bipin Rawat was appreciative of the measures and standard operating procedures instituted by the units and formations to meet the challenges posed by the inimical elements.
I would not like to preempt any of the findings of the court of inquiry, because it's a thorough process, said Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.
The Nilgiris district police registered the FIR under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and ADSP Muthumanikam was appointed as the investigation officer, official sources said. A probe is underway.
The Lok Sabha observed a two-minute silence on the demise of the 13 people.
A quintessential military commander, Gen Bipin Rawat possessed an uncanny understanding of geopolitical upheavals, calibrated a tri-services military doctrine to make India face myriad security challenges, and is largely credited with bringing down militancy in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
This was the first time General Rawat flew in the home-made fighter jet, known for its agility, being the smallest and lightest multirole supersonic fighter jet in its class.
The police arrested a man in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly making objectionable remarks on Facebook over the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and others in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, an official said.
Y Joe Alias Kutty on Wednesday recorded video of the helicopter, apparently moments before it crashed.
This year, eight eminent individuals are being given Padma Bhushan and 54 are being conferred with Padma Shri awards, besides the two Padma Vibhushan recipents.
The time has come to recommend Field Marshal Cariappa for the award of Bharat Ratna. If others can get it, I see no reason why he should not,' the army chief said.
The last such incident that killed senior armed forces personnel occurred on November 22, 1963.
Vicky and Yami also met the President and the NSA at General Rawat's home.
Over the past two decades, six of the eight army chiefs have been from the infantry and the other two from the artillery division. The appointment of either General Bakshi or General Hariz would interrupt the infantry's prolonged domination of the army command, says Ajai Shukla, a retired army officer himself.
'Why wouldn't so strategically-minded an adversary, such as China, not militarily exploit to the maximum Indian timidity, stupidity, and cupidity all along the LAC and legitimate, as it has done so often in the past, the fait accompli of incremental territorial grabs which, by the way, is its strategy and policy as implemented on the ground?'
Several politicians, including senior ministers, wished for the well-being and safety of Rawat and others on board.
General Bakshi is understood to have been assured by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that the process was under way to appoint him as India's first tri-service commander, a post that would, at least nominally, place him senior to General Rawat.
In Karnataka, home minister Araga Jnanendra directed police to track down the 'anti-national' persons who posted objectionable comments about the late chief of defence staff, and 'punish them befitting their distorted minds.'
Out of the 13 people killed in the IAF helicopter crash near Coonoor on Wednesday, the mortal remains of only Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig LS Lidder could be identified, officials said on Thursday.
'The General appreciated the importance of history in understanding modern conflict.' Tibetologist Claude Arpi recalls his meetings with General Bipin Rawat.
'Chinese soldiers don't have much experience of fighting in these kinds of areas and operating in this kind of terrain'
Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and Hansraj Ahir assure Mehbooba Mufti of the Centre's support.
The army chief's comments on Wednesday, at the Raisina Dialogue, on engaging with Taliban were first such public remarks by a senior functionary of the government.
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