CDS Makes Renewed Push for Defence University

New Delhi: Establishment of an Indian Defence University, which has faced several delays and cost revisions, is now getting a renewed push from the chief of defence staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat.

Officials have taken a two-pronged approach — through the CDS and the bureaucracy — to ensure faster clearance of the draft Indian Defence University (IDU) Bill from the Prime Minister’s Office. The matter is also set to be raised with the chiefs of the defence services and the defence minister.

The Indian Defence University (IDU), a plan mooted first 53 years ago and had its foundation stone laid in 2013, has been envisioned for addressing deficiencies in India’s security management and formulate policies on strategic challenges. The draft IDU Bill has been lying at the PMO for the past one and a half years, officials said.

Establishment of the university is among the priorities of the CDS. One of the first presentations made before General Rawat after he took over as the CDS was on the IDU, officials said.

“The CDS has been monitoring its progress. There is a concerted effort by him to push for establishing the IDU. He had mentioned then that the three chiefs of the army, air force and navy should also be briefed about the matter,” an official said.

A date is being finalised to give them this briefing, and defence minister Rajnath Singh is also being made aware of the details of the IDU. Officials added that the IDU Bill could be presented in the next session of Parliament. This is one approach being adopted by the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). It has also created a project formulation team for establishing the university.

The other approach is through the bureaucracy. The IDU has been proposed to come under the Department of Defence, which is headed by the defence secretary.

On being asked why won’t the university come under the CDS-headed Department of Military Affairs (DMA), officials said that the university would deal with higher defence studies involving bureaucrats and foreign delegations, while the DMA’s function is to largely look at military affairs.

The university is proposed to have departments on national security, defence technology and defence management. Tri-services institutions that are proposed to be affiliated to it are the National Defence College, the College of Defence Management, National Defence Academy and the Defence Services Staff College.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha this week had said, “The establishment of the IDU recommended (by the Kargil Review Committee) in 1999 to address the deficiencies in India’s security management systems did not fructify even after lapse of two decades in the absence of revised Cabinet approval for IDU. This has deprived the nation of an educational institution excelling in the area of defence and national security.”

It added that the project cost had increased from Rs 395 crore in May 2010 to Rs 4,007.22 crore in December 2017. The national auditor said the draft IDU legislation was lying with the Cabinet Secretariat since December 2017 for approval (as of August 2019). The defence ministry last August informed the CAG that the draft IDU Bill prepared after inter-ministerial consultations was yet to be approved by the Cabinet and the detailed project report for the proposed IDU could be finalised only after the law is enacted. The ministry explained that the passage of the proposed law was essential for establishing the IDU, which would be an autonomous institution.

Source: ET

Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times