US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster on Monday congratulated Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for being appointed as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and said he is looking forward to intensifying defence cooperation between the two countries.
"Hearty congratulations to @adgpi General Bipin Rawat on being named India's first Chief of Defence Staff. Looking forward to more productive discussions on ways to advance the #USIndiaDefense partnership," the Ambassador said in a tweet.
This is the first time that this position has been created by the Central government and appointed General Rawat as the topmost defence officer of the country, who will be the main point of contact for the government for dealing with the issues of defence forces.
General Rawat is completing his full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff on December 31. He will now continue to serve till March 2022 as the CDS where his main role would be to create synergy in operations and finances of the three services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in his Independence Day speech on August 15.
The recommendation for CDS had first been made after the Kargil War. It was argued that this post will create better coordination among the three services -- the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval played a crucial role along with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar to finalise the roles and responsibilities of the new office of the Chief of Defence Staff.
General Rawat is credited for bringing the major transformation in the Army structure and turning it into a mean and mean fighting machine of the future.
( With inputs from ANI )