Why in news?

• The Armed Forces have narrowed down the final contours of the integrated theatre commands.
• There is a proposal for theatre commanders under a national defence committee likely to be headed by the Defence Minister.
• The structures of the theatre commands are awaiting the approval of the government, based on which there may be further changes.

What’s in today’s article?

• Theaterisation of armed forces
• News Summary

Theaterisation of Armed Forces

• Theaterisation is a concept which seeks to integrate the capabilities of the three services - army, air force and navy – in order to optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.
• A theatre command/unit will be created by integrating elements/assets from all the three services.
  • Simply put, a theatre command deploys elements of the three services under a single, unified command structure.
• Each command is assigned a specific geographical region, combining resources of the three services for operational roles.
• As of now, almost all major countries like China, Russia, the US, the UK and France work on a theatre command concept.
  • For example, China’s Western Theatre Command looks after the entire borders with India.

Theatre commands and India

• 
• The Kargil Review Committee, the Naresh Chandra Committee and the Group of Ministers had called for structural changes in higher defence management.
• It was the Shekatkar committee, which had recommended the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and theatre commands.

Theaterisation model under consideration in India

• At the moment, not much details about the theaterisation effort are available in the public domain. However, experts say various models are already being discussed.
• As per media reports, three theatre commands will be set up first — one facing Pakistan, another opposite China, and a maritime theatre command to tackle maritime threats outside the coastal borders of the country.
• These theatre commands are likely to be located in Jaipur, Lucknow and Karwar, respectively.

Current command structure in India

• 
• At present, India has 17 single service commands and only two tri-service commands.
• The 17 single service commands are divided as:
  • Army – 7 commands; Airforce – 7 commands; Navy – 3 commands
• The two tri-service commands are: Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), and The Strategic Force Command (handles the nuclear weapons).

News Summary: Contours of joint theatre commands ready, await Govt nod before tweaks

• The Armed Forces have narrowed down the final contours of the integrated theatre commands.

Key highlights

• Creation of a national defence committee
  • There is a proposal for theatre commanders under a national defence committee likely to be headed by the Defence Minister.
• Members of national defence committee
  • Members of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) are also likely to be part of the defence committee.
  • The COSC comprises the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and takes important decisions related to matters of higher defence.

Recent steps taken by India towards theaterisation

• India has kickstarted the process to set up theatre commands, which involves jointness and integration of the disparate war-fighting units.
• The Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, a key prerequisite for theatre commands, got parliamentary approval in August 2023.
  • The act empowers the commander-in-chief and the officer-in-command of inter-services organisations with disciplinary and administrative powers over personnel from the other services serving in them.
  • It also empowers the central government to constitute an Inter-Services Organisation.
• Limited cross-postings between the Army, Navy and IAF have already been implemented to promote jointness.
  • Restructuring of the headquarters and the subsequent postings will take place after the final approval from the govt.