CDS Appointment Procedure in India: Role, Selection Process & Concerns

12 May 2026

The discussion centers on the recent appointment of Lieutenant General (Retired) Raja Subramaniam as the new Chief of Defense Staff.

This appointment has sparked a conversation regarding the significance of the post, the history of its creation, and the specific procedures used by the government for selection.

Timeline of CDS Appointments

Timeline	CDS Appointment	Key Details
Jan 2020	Bipin Rawat	1st CDS appointed after completing tenure as Army Chief; died in a helicopter crash in Dec 2021.
~1 Year Gap	Post remained vacant	Considered a major gap in India’s higher defence leadership structure.
Sep 2022	Anil Chauhan	Appointed as the 2nd CDS; assumed rank of a 4-star officer.
May 2024	N. S. Raja Subramani	Appointed as the 3rd CDS; previously served as a Military Commander and military advisor.

The Single Point Advisor: Historically, the Indian government faced challenges during conflicts because the three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) often provided differing opinions. The need for a “single point of military advisor” to streamline decision-making became critical after the Kargil War.
Recommendations: Two major bodies—the Kargil Review Committee and the Naresh Chandra Task Force—recommended the creation of this post to advise the government on military matters.
Establishment: The government officially created the post of Chief of Defense Staff in 2019.

Single Point Military Advisor: Provides unified military advice to the government.
Secretary of Department of Military Affairs: Functions as a secretary-level official within this specific department.
Permanent Chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee: Leads the committee consisting of the heads of the three armed services.

The sources highlight several critical concerns raised by the writer regarding how the post is currently being filled:

Appointment of Retired Officers: Traditionally, military conventions favor serving officials. However, following a rule change in June 2022, the government has begun appointing retired three-star officers to this four-star post, which the writer suggests can lower the morale of serving officers.
Politicization and “Closeness”: Recent appointees (such as Anil Chauhan and Raja Subramaniam) served as military advisors in the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). The writer expresses concern that this proximity to the executive branch might lead to the politicization of military appointments, emphasizing that selections should be transparent even if based on merit rather than just seniority.
Service Bias (Army Dominance): All three CDS appointees to date (General Bipin Rawat, Anil Chauhan, and Raja Subramaniam) have come from the Army. The writer argues that since modern warfare is multi-dimensional—involving cyber and space warfare—leaders from the Navy and Air Force should also be given the opportunity to lead.

While the creation of the CDS post was a necessary step toward “jointness and interoperability” within the Indian armed forces, the current trend of appointing retired officers and the perceived lack of transparency in the selection process are points of contention.
The writer suggests that for the post to remain effective and maintain military morale, the government should ensure a more balanced representation across the different branches of the military and maintain a clear distinction between military expertise and political influence.

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