NEW DELHI: Indian Military system undergoes a major structural change forthe first time in its history.

Indian Military to have integrated theatre commands, where all the manpowerand assets of the Army link link>, Navylink link>and IAF linklink>are under the operational control ofa single three-star general in theatre commands, by amending command andcontrol rules for joint organisations and establishments, Times oflink>link>Indialink> has reported.

Sources said the government has notified new “statutory rules and orders”to ensure an officer from any one service can now “exercise direct command”over personnel from the other two services, who are all governed bydifferent acts and rules, in tri-service organisations.

The move has been implemented especially for the strategically-locatedAndaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), which was established as India’s firsttheatre command in October 2001 but has largely failed to achieve itspotential due to internecine turf wars among the three services, generalpolitico-bureaucratic apathy, fund crunches and environmental concerns.

“It represents a huge cultural, fundamental shift in the Indian militarysystem, where the three services often pull in different directions.

If the country is to have a chief of defence staff (CDS) and theatrecommands in the years ahead, this tweaking of the Army, Navy and IAF rulesis the first step towards it,” said a top source.

The naval commander-in-chief of the ANC can now directly control anddiscipline Army and IAF officers and other personnel under him, even assimilar moves are afoot to eventually bring all land and assets under himin the archipelago. “It will serve as the template for theatre commands inthe future.

Moreover, we need a fully unified approach in ANC due to the expandingChinese threat in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR),” he added.