PIB 25Th August 2019

Summary of Press Information Bureau - by Jatin Verma 25th August, 2019

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Important PIB News 25th August, 2019

 Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee & Chief of the Air Staff visits Thailand

Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee & Chief of the Air Staff visits Thailand • Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa,, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Air Staff is embarking on a three day visit to Thailand. • He would be attending the 2019 Indo Pacific Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) Conference in Bangkok. • The theme for the conference is “Collaboration in a free and Open Indo – Pacific”. • Bilateral defence relations between India and Thailand have gained momentum consequent to India’s ‘’Look/ Act East Policy’. • Exercise Maitree is a joint military exercise between Indian Army and Royal Thai Army . • It is a platoon level exercise which comprises of infantry component.

Chiefs of Staff Committee • A post of permanent chairman, chiefs of staff committee (COSC) — a four-star officer who will be the single-point military adviser to the Centre — four years after a recommendation by the Naresh Chandra task force on higher defence reforms. • What is CoSC? Chief of Staff Committee is a forum, where the head of three services discuss important matters related to any military issue or any task given by the defence ministry. Responsibilities Selected on the basis of merit and from any of the three arms, the officer will be responsible for all military hardware acquisition processes, cyber command, Special Forces, and for “jointmanship” within the forces for optimum utilisation of resources. • A military adviser’s post in the form of chief of defence staff was proposed by the K Subrahmanyam Committee after the 1999 Kargil war. • In 2011, committee led by former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra recommended a watered down version of the CDS and called it the PCOSC (permanent chairman of the COSC). • The whole idea behind appointing a PCOSC is to break down silos within armed forces and create synergy in the fighting force. • The issue with the existing separate military wings is that there is a tussle between them due to differing perspectives and requirements.