Chief of Integrated Defence Staff

Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
to the
Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee
Flag of the Integrated Defence Staff
Indian Armed Forces
TypeVice chief of defence
StatusExecutive-in-charge of the Integrated Defence Staff.
AbbreviationCISC
Member of
Reports to Chief of Defence Staff
SeatSouth Hutments, Kashmir House, Rajaji Marg, New Delhi[2]
AppointerAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Ministry of Defence
Term lengthNo fixed term
Formation1 October 2001; 23 years ago (2001-10-01)
First holderLieutenant General Pankaj Joshi
PVSM, AVSM[3]
DeputyDeputy Chiefs of the Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS)[4]
WebsiteOfficial website

The Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) is the statutory office that heads the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), the principal inter-service syndicate of the Indian Armed Forces.[5] Customarily held by a three-star officer nominated from either of India’s three armed services, the CISC is the second-highest authority responsible for inter-service jointness, subordinate only to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).[6]

By function, the CISC is the executive-in-charge of the IDS, and thus, maintains oversight over inter-service coordination on crucial disciplines related to military functioning, specifically, intelligence, doctrine, joint planning, budgetary allocations and training.[1] In addition, the CISC serves as a non-voting member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee - of which the CDS is its Chairman; thus by definition, the CISC reports to the CDS, who is the final authority on military jointness.[1]

Domestically, the CISC ranks 23rd-overall in the Indian order of precedence and is the status-equivalent to the Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force; internationally, it is identical to Canada's Vice Chief of the Defence Staff and Spain's Chief of the Joint Defence Staff.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b c d e "DEFENCE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT OFFICE MANUAL PART – XVI" (PDF). cgda.nic.in. 30 October 2014.
  2. ^ "OFFICE OF THE CONTROLLER GENERAL OF DEFENCE ACCOUNTS" (PDF). cgda.nic.in. 7 July 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CISC_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Defence Reforms in India" (PDF). cuts-global.or. 5 December 2022.
  5. ^ "INTEGRATED DEFENCE STAFF". nic.in.
  6. ^ "What Is Integrated Defence Staff?". ssbcrackexams.com. 1 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Appointment of Chief of Defence Staff: A transformational moment?". www.financialexpress.com. 19 January 2020.
  8. ^ {[Cite web|url=https://bharatshakti.in/indias-first-chief-of-defence-staff-will-direct-three-service-chiefs/%7Ctitle=India’s first Chief of Defence Staff will direct three service chiefs|website=bharatshakti.in|date=20 November 2019}}