Final Touch to Theaterisation or Another Tick the Box?

Indian Armed Forces Tri Service Emblem - Source Wikimedia Commons

Several forcing events tend to suggest that at least preliminaries of the much vaunted plan to integrate the Army, Navy and Air Force operations through formation of Theater Commands may be reaching a degree of finality, or is it another so near yet so far moment.

A Ministry of Defence Press Release of May 06 states that the second edition of Joint Commanders’ Conference, on the theme ‘Military Capability in New Domains’, is being held in Jaipur on May 07 & 08, 2026 to be attended by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

The event coincides with the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, thus much nationalist fervour and services pride will be on display justifiably so.

The theme of the JCC just as other conferences of the Ministry of Defence in the recent past is stated as, “to accelerate indigenisation and Aatmanirbharta in defence production by fostering a domestic ecosystem of innovation & civil-military fusion’.

Multiple media reports also indicate that the plan for theaterisation is likely to be presented to the Defence Minister Mr Rajnath Singh at the conference.

There is right momentum for the same with the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan demitting his uniform for the second time this month, he would be keen to leave a legacy of having formulated the framework of theatre commands.

Discussions seem to have moved forward towards settlement of jurisdiction in “force application” and “force generation”.

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, speaking at the ANI National Security Summit on “Future of Warfare, National Security, Operation Sindoor & Iran War,” highlighted that at present force generation and application is a function performed by respective services commander combining the operational with the raising and training of force.  These functions are being separated with force application becoming the ambit of the Vice Chief of Defence Staff – a new appointment and Theater Commanders.

This being the broad framework it is reported that tri-services Joint Operations Control Centre (JOCC) in Delhi Cantonment in May centralizing operationl command for the army, navy, and air force, thus facilitating coordination among top commanders.  

Recommendations from the CDS on establishing Theatre Commands have been presented to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and detailed stakeholder discussions are expected with presentation during Joint Commanders' Conference in Jaipur on May 7-8 as per some reports which have not been independently verified.

When approved Indian armed forces are set to also follow the American concept wherein theatre commanders operate the force based on the directions of the Secretary of War while the services chiefs facilitate fielding of the force by raising, training, equipping and then sustaining the same.

Indeed, this is a simplistic model which would have many intricacies given the fact that Indian higher command chain is different from that of the American.

In the Indian system, the defence of India is responsibility of the Defence Secretary, the top civil service official of the Ministry of Defence.

In some ways the Chief of Defence Staff as Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs reports to the Defence Secretary whereas in protocol he is higher in the hierarchy.

So how these complexities are resolved and higher command arrangements streamlined remains to be seen. Suffice to say these transformations are occurring just as Operation Sindoor continuum is continuing and the Indian armed forces are operationally deployed from the Straits of Hormuz, to the high Himalayas going on to the Andaman Seas.

Managing command transitions in service is another facet. As has been stated Chief of defence staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan is completing his stint by the end of May.

Dr Samir V. Kamat, chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’s tenure is also coming to an end if not extended till May 31.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi superannuates with Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Naval Command, considered to be the front runner for the post.

The next major transition will be in the Indian Army, with chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi set to retire in July. Lieutenant Gen. Dheeraj Seth, an Armoured Corps officer who was appointed vice-chief of the Indian Army last month, is seen as a leading contender for the top post.

This comes even as the Western, Eastern, and Southern Commands saw a change in April led by Lt Gen Pushpendra Pal Singh, Lt Gen V.M.B. Krishnan, and Lt Gen Sandeep Jain respectively.

Clearly the transitions are occurring at a time of turbulence so to say but then in the VUCA world of today, it is the new normal.