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Centre approves key appointments in department of military affairs
Puri and the other three officers were already holding these posts in the DMA in officiating capacities but did have the powers vested in the positions as the government had not formally approved the appointments, officials familiar with the developments said on Thursday.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the Prime Minister, has cleared the appointment of senior military officers as additional secretary and joint secretaries in the department of military affairs (DMA) under the defence ministry.
In an order issued late on Wednesday, the ACC approved the appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Puri as additional secretary in the DMA. It also cleared Major General K Narayanan, Rear Admiral Kapil Mohan Dhir and Air Vice Marshal Hardeep Bains for the posts of joint secretary in the department.
Chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat heads the DMA as its secretary. The DMA was set up by a gazette notification issued on December 30, 2019.
Puri and the other three officers were already holding these posts in the DMA in officiating capacities but did have the powers vested in the positions as the government had not formally approved the appointments, officials familiar with the developments said on Thursday.
“Now that the appointments have been cleared, files will not have to be channelled through the CDS. Things will move at a faster pace,” said an official.
Rawat wears three hats — he is the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), heads the DMA and is the single-point military adviser to the defence minister.
The government expects Rawat, who took charge as India’s first CDS on January 1, 2020, to bring about jointness among the three services in a three-year time frame (by January 2023). One of the means to achieve jointness is the setting up of integrated theatre commands for the best use of military resources to fight future battles.
The DMA is one of the five verticals in the defence ministry — the departments of defence, defence production, defence research and development and ex-service welfare. One of the key responsibilities of the DMA is to work towards promoting the use of indigenous equipment by the services at a time when the armed forces are dependent on imported military hardware.
