CDS General Bipin Rawat. The operational control of all the theatre commands will eventually come under CDS

Theaterisation refers to placing specific units of the army, the navy and the air force under a theatre commander. Such commands are to be led by an officer from any of the three services, depending on the roles assigned to them.

The government has constituted an expert panel for consultations on the military’s Theaterisation plans before seeking the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to implement the long-awaited military reform to optimally utilise the resources of the armed forces, officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

“A committee has been formed to look into different aspects of Theaterisation. It has members of the armed forces, defence ministry and other ministries involved in the planning and implementation aspects,” said one of the officials cited above.

Issues related to Theaterisation were discussed and examined in detail by top officials who reviewed a draft cabinet note on new joint structures at a meeting this month, as reported by HT on Thursday.

The key points discussed included the executing authority for theatre commands, the geographies they will control, command and control structures, budgeting and placing some paramilitary forces under the commands. Some of these issues involve the finance and home ministries.

Theaterisation refers to placing specific units of the army, the navy and the air force under a theatre commander. Such commands are to be led by an officer from any of the three services, depending on the roles assigned to them.

HT reported in February that India was set to begin a formal roll-out of its long-awaited Theaterisation plan, with the Air Defence Command and the Maritime Theatre Command likely to be launched by May. Deliberations on the proposal are likely to take more time as all stakeholders have to be brought on board and the previous timelines may have to be revised.

“Processes have to be followed before the proposal is sent to the CCS for approval. We have to have more discussions to iron out the details of the Theaterisation plan. All stakeholders have to be in agreement on what is the best way to address the country’s security requirements. But there will be no inordinate delay,” another official said on Thursday.

Apart from the Air Defence and Maritime Theatre Commands, India is expected to have three other integrated commands to secure its western, northern and eastern fronts. In addition, a logistics command is in the works to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.

Experts said building consensus among all stakeholders was crucial to take the Theaterisation plan forward.

The government expects General Bipin Rawat, who took charge as India’s first chief of defence staff (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 operational control of all the theatre commands will eventually come under CDS, with the service chiefs being responsible for raising, training and sustaining their forces, as previously reported by HT.

Rawat wears three hats. He is the permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC), heads the department of military affairs (DMA), and is the single-point military adviser to the defence minister.

CDS will have operational control over all the integrated commands when they are fully functional. This will be in his role as CDS, and not as permanent chairman COSC, and will require some restructuring in DMA.

The restructuring could involve the chief of integrated defence staff to COSC, or CISC, being appointed as the secretary of DMA in due course to allow CDS to focus on the theatre commands, officials have earlier said.