Armed forces service rules amended; Army, Navy & IAF chiefs can serve till 65 if made CDS

Following the union government's announcement on Tuesday that the country will be getting its first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Central Government amended the Army Rule of 1954 which now provides extension of tenure of the Chief of Defence Staff, if deemed necessary. The notification issued by the Ministry of Defence dated December 28th, 2019, also stated that Army Rules 1954 shall be called the Army (Amendment) Rules, 2019. 

Under the Army (Amendment) Rules, 2019, certain rules of the Army Rules 1954 will also not be applicable to the new Chief of Defence Staff. The new '15B' clause added to the Army Rules states, "Without prejudice to the provisions contained in section 19 of the Act, nothing contained in rules 14, 15 and 15A shall apply to the office of the Chief of Defence Staff." Furthermore, the rank of General, which is attributed to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) shall also refer to the new CDS, under the amended rule.

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Cabinets approval

Earlier on Tuesday, the Union cabinet had announced that the CDS would be a four-star general - from either- the Army, the Air Force or the Navy - who will also head the Department of Military Affairs and would be paid a salary equal to a service chief. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the announcement about the creation of the new office of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on August 15 in his Independence Day speech.

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