India looking to set up separate theatre command for J&K: CDS Gen Rawat

Gen Rawat also said that submarines are a priority over aircraft carrier for the Navy

India is looking at setting up a separate theatre command for Jammu and Kashmir, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said on Monday. The air defence command is to be rolled out by the beginning of next year and the Peninsula command by the end of 2021, Gen Rawat told a select group of journalists.

The Indian Air Force will helm the air defence command and all-long range missiles as well as air defence assets will come under it, he said. “India is looking at setting up a separate theatre command for Jammu and Kashmir,” Gen Rawat said. Indian Navy’s Eastern and Western commands will be integrated into the Peninsula command, he said.

India will also have a separate training and doctrinal command and logistics command, he said. He also favoured a policy of staggered procurement of big ticket purchases, including acquisition of 114 fighter jets. The Navy’s demand for a third aircraft carrier will be considered after assessing performance of indigenously-built aircraft carrier, he said. Gen Rawat also said that submarines are a priority over aircraft carrier for the Navy.

Lt General Manoj Mukund Naravane to replace Bipin Rawat as Army chief

He was commissioned into the 7th battalion, the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980.

Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane is set to become the next chief of the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army, official sources said on Monday. Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is due for retirement on December 31. Before taking charge as vice chief of the Army Staff in September, Lt Gen Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Army which takes care of India’s nearly 4,000-km border with China.

In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front.

He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and had served as India’s defence attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years. Lt Gen Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 7th battalion, the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980. The General is a decorated officer who has been awarded the ‘Sena Medal’ (Distinguished) for effectively commanding his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir.