The new Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan's primary task currently is executing the Theaterisation of the Indian Armed Forces. What is the new Theaterisation plan of the Indian Armed Forces? All facts are simplified here.

What Is The Theaterisation of Armed Forces?

The first and foremost priority of the new Chief of Defence Service(CDS), General Anil Chauhan, is to execute the highly ambitious characterization plan. The model aims to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands and making the military ready for future challenges to security. After nine months post the sad accidental demise of the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash in December 2021, General Anil Chauhan took charge as the country’s senior-most commander.

Last year, General Bipin Rawat headed the Department of Military Affairs instructed the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Navy to perform independent studies on the Theaterisation plan. However, the sudden death of General Bipin Rawat halted the process in 2021.

The Theaterisation Plan

As per the Theaterisation plan, each of the theatre commands will be having units of the three services of the Indian Armed Forces- the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Navy. All these three will work jointly as a single entity foreseeing the security challenges under an operational commander in a specified geographical territory.

Currently, the three services of the Indian Armed Forces have 17 commands in all. Earlier, a plan was designed for the creation of an Air Defence Command and Maritime Theatre Command. However, it is important to note that there are some reservations in the Indian Air Force regarding the proposed theatre commands.

In June 2022, VR Chaudhary, Air Chief Marshal stated that the Indian Air Force stays completely committed to the tri-services synergy to enhance the comprehensive national combat power.

Note that last year, General Bipin Rawat stated that the country will have two to five theatre commands in order to handle future security challenges along the northern and western borders of the country. He also said that the security challenges along the western borders of India will be operational by the present year, i.e. 2022. However, a delay in the process became obvious after General Rawat’s death in 2021.

The Maritime Theatre Command

The fact that the Western and Eastern Commands of the Indian Navy will be merged into the proposed Peninsula Command, was also stated by General Rawat. This merger is what makes up for the Maritime Theatre Command.

The objective of the Maritime Theatre Command would be to oversee the security challenges in the complete Indian Ocean region. The command will range from the Sundarbans in the eastern region to Sir Creek Estuary in the western region.

The proposed Maritime Theatre will be having air assets along with the Indian Army’s support. General Rawat also stated that the Maritime Theatre Command’s commander will get approval from Delhi for the purpose of operation matters like the movement of ships.