![](https://bharatshakti.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LT-BSI-Defence.gif")
The government’s decision to extend General Anil Chauhan’s tenure as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) until May 2026 was hardly surprising. Since his appointment in September 2022, Chauhan has been the government’s point person for military transformation, inheriting the unfinished agenda of his predecessor, the late General Bipin Rawat, following his tragic death in December 2021. His record is a mixed bag defined by battlefield success in Operation Sindoor but overshadowed by the stalemate over theatre commands.
If there is one achievement that will mark Chauhan’s tenure, it is Operation Sindoor. In that high-stakes mission in May, the three services operated from a makeshift Joint Operations Command Centre (JOCC) under the Army’s war room. The operation demonstrated the raw power of integration – coordination was faster, resources optimised, and results decisive. It was a live case study in jointness, a glimpse of what theatre commands could deliver if implemented.
Yet, when it comes to structural reform, the story is less inspiring. The big-ticket mandate of theatreisation – consolidating 17 single-service commands into three or four joint theatre commands – remains out of reach.
However, Gen Chauhan has nudged the services forward with modest wins:
- Three new joint military stations were approved at the Combined Commanders’ Conference recently held in Kolkata.
- A Tri-Service Education Corps to harmonise training and build a culture of jointness.
- Expansion of tri-service logistics hubs.
But these are baby steps. The hard decision to redraw command maps and place operational power under joint leadership remains mired in inter-service rivalry.
The most vocal resistance has come from the Air Force. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh bluntly warned against “rushing” into theatre commands, citing resource constraints and India’s vast geography. The Army and Navy, by contrast, appear more willing to embrace the shift. Chauhan’s challenge has been to hold the centre – absorbing pushback without derailing the agenda entirely.
The Unfinished Homework
Beyond theatre commands, other gaps remain glaring:
- No integrated capability plan: Acquisitions are still driven by individual services rather than a joint force strategy.
- Overloaded CDS role: As both CDS and Secretary, DMA, Chauhan’s remit is too broad, leaving theatreisation competing with procurement and personnel reforms.
- Political capital: Without a stronger government push, even the best-laid military plans will remain on paper.
General Chauhan’s extension signals continuity – the government is betting on patience over disruption. He has demonstrated his ability to fight wars with integrated force structures. What he hasn’t yet shown is whether he can fight institutional inertia within the services.
As CDS 2.0, his task is clear: move from symbolism to structure, from pilot projects to permanent commands. History will judge his tenure not by conference declarations or pilot models, but by whether India enters 2026 with its first theatre command in place.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
