Ministry of Defence (India)

Origin

A Military Department was created by the Supreme Government of the British East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776.^[10] Its main function was to co-ordinate and record orders, relating to the Army, issued by various Departments of the Government of the East India Company. The Military Department initially functioned as a branch of the Public Department and maintained a list of Army personnel.^[10]

With the Charter Act of 1833 the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was re-organised into four Departments, each headed by a Secretary to the Government.^[10] The Armies in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as the respective Presidency Armies until April 1895, when the Presidency Armies were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four Commands; Punjab (including the North West Frontier), Bengal (including Burma), Madras and Bombay (including Sind, Quetta and Aden).^[10]

The supreme authority over the Indian Army was vested in the Governor General-in-Council, subject to the Control of the Crown, which was exercised by the Secretary of State for India. Two Members in the Council were responsible for military affairs. One was the Military Member, who supervised all administrative and financial matters. The other was the Commander-in-Chief who was responsible for all operational matters.^[10] The Military Department was abolished in March 1906 and was replaced by two separate Departments; the Army Department and the Military Supply Department. In April 1909 the Military Supply Department was abolished and its functions were taken over by the Army Department. The Army Department was re-designated as the Defence Department in January 1938. The Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a Cabinet Minister in August 1947.^[10]

Post Independence Changes

The functions of MOD which in 1947 was mainly logistic support to the Armed Forces, has undergone far reaching changes. In November 1962, following the 1962 war, a Department of Defence Production was set-up to deal with research, development and production of defence equipment. In November 1965, the Department of Defence Supplies was created for planning and execution of schemes for import substitution of requirements for defence purposes. These two Departments were later merged to form the Department of Defence Production and Supplies.

In 1980, the Department of Defence Research and Development was created. In January 2004, the Department of Defence Production and Supplies was renamed the Department of Defence Production. A Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister was appointed to advise on scientific aspects of military equipment and the research and design of Defence forces equipment. The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare was created in 2004.

Departments

The Ministry of Defence consists of four Departments; Department of Defence, Department of Defence Production, Department of Defence Research & Development, and Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. The Defence Secretary functions as head of the Department of Defence,^[11][12] and is additionally responsible for coordinating the activities of the four Departments in the Ministry.^[11][12]

The principal functions of all the Departments are as follows:

• The Department of Defence (DoD), headed by the Defence Secretary, deals with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), the three Services, the Indian Coast Guard, the paramilitary forces and various Inter-Service Organisations. It is also responsible for the Defence Budget, establishment matters, defence policy, matters relating to the Parliament, defence co-operation with foreign countries and coordination of all activities.^[11][12]
• The Department of Defence Production (DDP), headed by the Defence Production Secretary, was set up in November 1962 and is responsible for matters pertaining to defence production, planning and control of departmental production units of the Ordnance Factories Board, indigenisation of imported stores equipment and spares, and for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (HAL, BEL, BEML, BDL, MDL, GSL, GRSE, Midhani).^[12][13]
• The Department of Defence Research and Development (DDRD), headed by the Defence Research and Development Secretary and ex-officio Chairman of DRDO, was formed in 1958, after the three-way merger of Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP) and the Defence Science Organisation (DSO). The Department is responsible for Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO).^[12][14]
• The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW), headed by the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary, was set up in 2004 to look after Veteran Affairs. The Directorate General of Resettlement, the Kendriya Sainik Welfare Board and Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme come under the purview of DESW.^[12][15]

Universities and Institutes

Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Defence Institute of Psychological Research and National Defence University come under administration and purview of the Ministry of Defence.

Inter-Services organisations

^[12]

Integrated Defence Staff (IDS)

To ensure a high degree of synergy between the Armed forces, the Government has set up the Integrated Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of Integrated Staff as the Chairman. It was created on 1 October 2001 based on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers which was set up in 2000 (post-Kargil) to review India's defence management.^[16] It acts as the point organisation for integration of policy, doctrine, war fighting and procurement by employing best management practices. The current Chief of Integrated Defence Staff is Lieutenant General Satish Dua, who took over on 31 October 2016.^[17]

Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)

'Chiefs of Staff are the authority for advising the Defence Minister and normally through him the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military matters which require ministerial consideration'. The IDS is 'the principal arm and Secretariat to the Chiefs of Staff Committee'^[18][19]

Role

The responsibility for national defence "rests with the Cabinet, which is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Defence."^[10]

The Defence Ministry is responsible for "obtaining policy directions of the Government on all defence and security related matters" and communicating these directions to "Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organisations, Production Establishments and Research and Development Organisations".^[10] The MoD works closely with the National Security Council, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Defence Secretary, other senior officials and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister

The Ministers are supported by a number of civilian, scientific and professional military advisers.

The Defence Secretary as head of the Department of Defence,^[11] is the senior most civil servant in the Ministry and is responsible for co-coordinating the activities of the four Departments in the Ministry.^[11] His/Her role is to ensure that the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government.^[20][21][11] Defence Secretary is assisted by Additional Secretaries and Joint Secretaries to Government of India posted in the Ministry. The Defence Secretary, generally is an officer from the Indian Administrative Service, apart from the Defence Secretary, there are three more Secretary-level posts in the Ministry of Defence.

Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister plays a key role in formulation of R&D policies and promoting self-reliance in Indian Defence Industries.

Civil Services under MOD

Finance Division

The Finance Division of the Ministry of Defence is headed by the Financial Advisor (Defence Services). He/she exercises financial control over proposals involving expenditure from the Defence Budget and is responsible for the internal audit and accounting of defence expenditure. In the latter tasks, s/he is assisted by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).

Chiefs of the Tri-Services

In 1955, the title of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and the three Service Chiefs were designated as the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff. The heads of the three services of Indian Armed Forces are:

• Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) — General Bipin Rawat
• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) — Admiral Sunil Lanba
• Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) — Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa