NEW DELHI – The Narendra Modi government will soon announce the name of thenew Chief of Army Staff (COAS), and also the country’s first four-starChief of Defence Staff (CDS), a decision the armed forces have beenawaiting with bated breath amid all the speculation.
[image: Related image]In contention for the post of COAS are three officerswhose names have been sent to the Prime Minister for final selection,ThePrint has learnt.
In August this year, it was reported that Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is setto become the first CDS — the sole adviser to the government on all threeservices.
Gen Rawat retires on 31 December — three months before he turns 62, theupper age limit for service chiefs.
Sources said the name of the CDS and the new Army chief is likely to beannounced at least two weeks before Gen Rawat’s retirement.Contenders for the post of Army chief
According to sources, the three officers in contention for the COAS postare Vice-Chief Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt GenRanbir Singh and Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Satinder Kumar Saini.
Lt Gen Naravane, who has also served as the Eastern Army Commander andCommander of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), is the senior-most amongthe three.Speculation rife on who will be first CDS
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Even though Gen Rawat is the front-runner and literally the lone candidateto become the CDS, a lot of speculation is doing the rounds in the armedforces about who the first incumbent will be.
At the defence ministry level, sources said, the names of the three servicechiefs were initially discussed but Gen Rawat emerged as the consensuscandidate.
However, this alone does not guarantee his appointment as the CDS. In thecase of incumbent Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar SinghBhadauria, his name did not originally figure in the list sent to the PMO,which later sought his file.
Rumours circulated by a section also suggested that a vice-chief couldbecome the CDS. This would, however, be surprising because an officer whohas not even commanded his own service would then become the ‘first amongequals’ and the single points person for the PM on defense matters.
