Department of Military Affairs

Department of Military Affairs

Parent Agency - Ministry of Defence
Seal of the Chief of Defence Staff
Department overview
Formed	1 January 2020; 4 years ago (2020-01-01)
Headquarters	Secretariat
Minister responsible	Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence
Deputy Minister responsible	Ajay Bhatt (politician), Minister of State for Defence
Department executive	General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff and ex-officio Secretary
Parent department	Ministry of Defence

Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is the department in charge of military matters[a] within the Indian Ministry of Defence. Headed by the Chief of Defence Staff,[1][2] as its ex-officio secretary,[3] the DMA provides integration between the armed forces of the Union and the Ministry of Defence.[4][5]

Function

Consisting of military and civilian officers, the DMA will promote jointness in various areas such as procurement, training and staffing.[6] The DMA will deal the tri-service Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) Headquarters, with the headquarters of three armed force Army, Air and Naval, the Territorial Army and certain procurement requirements. DMA will also deal with promoting jointness through joint planning, facilitate restructuring for optimal utilisation of resources and promote the use of indigenous equipment by the Services.[6] The DMA, being under the Chief of Defence Staff will also deal with the role and responsibilities assigned to the chief.[1][4]

As per the Second Schedule to Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, the following subjects were allocated to DMA:-[7]

• The Armed Forces of the Union, namely, Army, Navy and Air Force.
• Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters and Defence Staff Headquarters.
• The Territorial Army.
• Works relating to Army, Navy and Air Force.
• Procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent rules and procedures.
• Promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the Services through joint planning and integration of their requirements.
• Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint / theatre commands.
• Promoting use of indigenous equipment by the Services.

Organisation

The department comes under the Ministry of Defence and is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, who acts as its ex-officio secretary.[3] In addition to the Chief of Defence Staff, the department comprises an additional secretary, five joint secretaries, thirteen deputy secretaries, and twenty-five under-secretaries.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Appointment	Incumbent	Branch	References
Chief of Defence Staff & Secretary (DMA)	General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM	Indian Armed Forces	[14]
Additional Secretary	Vice Admiral Atul Anand, AVSM, VSM	Indian Navy	[15]
Joint Secretary (Army & Territorial Army)	Major General K Narayanan, AVSM, SM	Indian Army	[16][17]
Joint Secretary (Navy & Defence Staff)	Rear Admiral Vikram Menon, VSM	Indian Navy	[18]
Joint Secretary (Air & Staff Duties)	Air Vice Marshal Hardeep Bains, AVSM, VSM	Indian Air Force	[17]
Joint Secretary (Establishment & Coordination)	Anil Kumar Chhapolia	Indian Railway Personnel Service	[19]
Joint Secretary (Works & Parliament Affairs)	Shantanu	Indian Administrative Service	[20]

References

Notes

1. As compared to the Department of Defence which is in charge of defence matters of the country.

Citations

1. Menon, Lt General Prakash (25 December 2019). "CDS was needed. But Modi govt also creating Department of Military Affairs is a big bonus". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
2. "Govt sets up Dept of Military Affairs to be headed by Chief of Defence Staff". Hindustan Times. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
3. Peri, Dinakar (25 December 2019). "CDS will bring in synergy, say experts". The Hindu. New Delhi. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
4. Bhalla, Abhishek (24 December 2019). "CDS to head new dept of military affairs to integrate armed forces with Defence Ministry". India Today. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
5. "Modi govt's CDS-Dept of Military Affairs: Cosmetic change or increasing defence efficiency?". ThePrint. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
6. "Cabinet approves creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of four star General". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
7. "Creation of New Department of Military Affairs". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
8. Peri, Dinakar (10 January 2020). "Dep. of Military Affairs' rules of business approved". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
9. P, Rajat; Jan 10 (10 January 2020). "New department of military affairs takes shape under the CDS | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. New Delhi. ISSN 0971-8257. OCLC 23379369. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
10. "Creation of New Department of Military Affairs". 3 February 2020.
11. "General Bipin Rawat's department to get 3 two-star military officers". 12 February 2020.
12. "Bipin Rawat headed-DMA will give preference to domain experts like DRDO and ISRO; The Gen Rawat-headed Department of Military Affairs is currently operating with an interim structure as govt is yet to accord final sanction". 14 February 2020.
13. "Proposal on structure of Department of Military Affairs sent to Defence Ministry". The Hindu. 14 February 2020.
14. "General Anil Chauhan takes over as Chief of Defence Staff; Vows to fulfil the hopes of the Nation & deal with challenges together". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
15. "Vice Admiral Atul Anand takes over as Additional Secretary, DMA". pib.gov.in.
16. "Malayali Major-General K Narayanan to take over as 13th colonel of Maratha Light Infantry". The New Indian Express.
17. "OFFICE ORDER" (PDF). mod.gov.in. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
18. "Who's Who". mod.gov.in. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
19. "GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS" (PDF). indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
20. "IAS officers Rajeev Singh Thakur, Shantanu appointed joint secretaries in department of military affairs". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 October 2022.