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Ministry of Defence
Branch of Government of India
Ministry_of_Defence_India.svgMinistry of Defence
Ministry overview
Formed15 August 1947; 77 years ago (1947-08-15)
Preceding Ministry
  • Department of Defence (1938–47)
JurisdictionGovernment of India
HeadquartersSecretariat Building
Raisina Hill, New Delhi
28°36′50″N 77°12′32″E / 28.61389°N 77.20889°E / 28.61389; 77.20889
Employees1,400,000 (active personnel) (2023)

700,000 (reserve personnel) (2023)

200,000 (civilian) (2014)
Annual budget₹6.21 lakh crore (US$74 billion) (2024)
Minister responsible
Deputy Minister responsible
Ministry executives
Child agencies
Websitemod.gov.in
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) (romanized: Raksha Mantralay) is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. The Ministry of Defence provides policy framework and resources to the armed forces to discharge their responsibility in the context of the country's defence. The Indian Armed Forces (including Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Navy) and Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of India.

As per Statista, MoD is the largest employer in the world with 29.2 lakh (2.92 million) employees.

At present, the new creation of National Defence University, for the training of military officials and concerned civilian officials, will be administered and overseen by the Ministry. The Ministry organises and runs Republic Day celebrations and parade every year in January at Rajpath, hosting a chief guest. The Ministry has the largest budget among the federal departments of India and currently stands third in military expenditure in the world, among countries of the world.

History

A Military Department was created in the Supreme Government of the English East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776, having the main function to sift and record orders relating to the Army issued by various Departments of the Government of East India Company. The Military Department initially functioned as a branch of the Public Department and maintained a list of Army personnel.

With the Charter Act 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four departments, each headed by a secretary to the Government. The armies in the presidencies of Bengal, Bombay and Madras functioned as the respective presidency armies until April 1895, when the presidency armies were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands: Punjab (including the North West Frontier), Bengal (including Burma), Madras and Bombay (including Sindh, Quetta and Aden).

The supreme authority over the Indian Army was vested in the Governor General-in-Council, subject to the control of the Crown, which was exercised by the Secretary of State for India. Two members of the council were responsible for military affairs. One was the Military Member, who supervised all administrative and financial matters. The other was the commander-in-chief who was responsible for all operational matters. The Military Department was abolished in March 1906 and replaced by two separate departments; the Army and the Military Supply departments. In April 1909 the Military Supply Department was abolished and the Army Department took over its functions. The Army Department was redesignated as the Defence Department in January 1938. The Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a cabinet minister in August 1947.

Role

The responsibility for national defence "rests with the Cabinet, which is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Defence."

The Defence Ministry is responsible for "obtaining policy directions of the Government on all defence and security related matters" and communicating these directions to "Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organisations, Production Establishments and Research and Development Organisations". The MoD works closely with the National Security Council, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Modern era: 20th and 21st century

The functions of MoD which in 1947 was mainly logistic support to the armed forces, have undergone far-reaching changes. In November 1962, following the 1962 war, a Department of Defence Production was set up to deal with research, development and production of defence equipment. In November 1965, the Department of Defence Supplies was created for planning and execution of schemes for import substitution of requirements for defence purposes. These two Departments were later merged to form the Department of Defence Production and Supplies.

The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh addressing an Atmanirbhar Bharat Defence Industry Outreach Webinar, jointly organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD), in New Delhi on 27 August 2020. Also seen are General Bipin Rawat, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Admiral Karambir Singh, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, the Defence Secretary, Ajay Kumar, the Secretary (Defence Production) and the Secretary, Raj Kumar, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, G. Satheesh Reddy.

In 1980, the Department of Defence Research and Development was created. In January 2004, the Department of Defence Production and Supplies was renamed the Department of Defence Production. A Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister was appointed to advise on scientific aspects of military equipment and the research and design of defence forces equipment. The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare was created in 2004.

Organisation

Departments

The Ministry of Defence consists of five departments; the Department of Defence (DoD), the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the Department of Defence Production (DDP), the Department of Defence Research and Development (DRDO), and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW). The Defence Secretary of India functions as head of the Department of Defence, and is additionally responsible for coordinating the activities of the departments in the ministry.

The principal functions of all the departments are as follows:

  • The Department of Defence, headed by the Defence Secretary, the department deals with the defence of India including defence policy, preparation for defence, acts conducive to prosecution of war, the Reserves of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Defence Accounts, Indian Coast Guard, Border Roads Organisation, capital acquisitions for defence and various establishment matters. It is also responsible for the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, National Defence College and any other organisation within the Ministry of Defence whose remit is broader than military matters. It is also responsible for the Defence Budget, matters relating to the Parliament, defence cooperation with foreign countries and coordination of all activities.
  • The Department of Military Affairs, is responsible for managing the armed forces of India, namely, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. It is also responsible for the Territorial Army. It is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff as its secretary. It deals with procurement exclusive to the Indian Armed Forces except capital acquisitions. It is designed to promote jointness among the military services of India. This department was approved on 24 December 2019. and the responsibilities notified by Cabinet Secretariat order on 30 December 2019.
  • The Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare (DESW) is headed by the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary. The department was set up in 2004 to look after veteran affairs. The Directorate General of Resettlement, the Kendriya Sainik Board and the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme come under the purview of DESW.

Finance Division

The Finance Division of the Ministry of Defence is headed by the Financial Adviser (Defence Services). The financial advisor exercises financial control over proposals involving expenditure from the Defence Budget and is responsible for the internal audit and accounting of defence expenditure. In the latter tasks, the financial advisor is assisted by the Controller General of Defence Accounts.

Schools

Institutes and universities

Inter-services organisations

Integrated Defence Staff

Main article: Integrated Defence Staff

To ensure a high degree of synergy between the Armed forces, the Government has set up the Integrated Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff as the chairman. It was created on 1 October 2001 based on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers which was set up in 2000 (post-Kargil) to review India's defence management. It acts as the point organisation for integration of policy, doctrine, war-fighting and procurement by employing best management practices. The chairman of Integrated Defences Staff is a 4-star General (or his equivalent in the Air Force or the Navy).

The first Chief of Defence Staff was General Bipin Rawat, who took over on 1 January 2020.

Chiefs of Staff Committee

"Chiefs of Staff are the authority for advising the Defence Minister and normally through him the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military matters which require ministerial consideration". The Integrated Defence Staff is '"the principal arm and Secretariat to the Chiefs of Staff Committee".

Composition

The Chiefs of Staff Committee is composed of: (a) Chief of the Army Staff (COAS); (b) Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS); (c) Chief of the Air Staff (CAS); and (d) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) (non-voting member). The Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence is invited to attend whenever needed.

The senior-most member of the COSC is appointed its chairperson. General Bipin Rawat was the last head of COSC.

The position of COSC has ceased to exist with the creation of Chief of Defence Staff.

General Bipin Rawat was appointed the first Chief of Defence Staff in 2019. He died in a helicopter crash on 8 December 2021.

Organizational structure

Cabinet

MoD is headed by the Defence Minister of India, who is supported by one, or more than one, minister of state.

Minister Designation Portfolio
Rajnath Singh Minister of Defence Overall responsibility.
Sanjay Seth Minister of State for Defence Charter of duties includes secondary logistic and administrative functions.

Senior officials

There are about 400,000 defence civilians, under the MOD including Ministry of Finance personnel attached to MOD. In 2015–16 Defence pension bill was ₹54,500 crore (equivalent to ₹780 billion or US$9.4 billion in 2023) of which about 36 per cent was on account of defence civilians.

Defence Secretary, other senior officials and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister

See also: Defence Secretary (India)

The ministers are supported by several civilian, scientific and military advisers.

The Defence Secretary as head of the Department of Defence, is the senior most civil servant in the ministry and is responsible for coordinating the activities of the four departments in the ministry. His/her role is to ensure that the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government. Defence Secretary is assisted by additional secretaries and joint secretaries to Government of India posted in the ministry. The Defence Secretary, generally, is an officer from the Indian Administrative Service, apart from the Defence Secretary, there are three other secretary-level posts in the Ministry of Defence.

Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister plays a key role in the formulation of research and development policies and in promoting self-reliance in Indian defence industries.

Senior officials in the Ministry of Defence
Name Designation
Rajesh Kumar Singh, IAS Defence Secretary
Sanjeev Kumar, IAS Secretary (Defence Production)
Niten Chandra, IAS Secretary (Ex-servicemen Welfare)
Sameer V. Kamat Secretary (Defence Research and Development) and chairman, DRDO
Sugata Ghosh Dastidar, IDAS Financial Adviser

Chiefs of the tri-services and Defence Staff

In 1955, the title of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and the three service chiefs were designated as the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff. The heads of the three services of Indian Armed Forces are:

Vice Chiefs of the tri-services

Services

Civil Services under Ministry of Defence

Main article: Civil Services of India
Civil Services under the Ministry of Defence
S. No. Name of service Group
1 Indian Naval Material Management Service A
2 Border Roads Engineering Service A
3 Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service A
4 Defence Quality Assurance Service A
5 Defence Research and Development Service A
6 Indian Defence Accounts Service A
7 Indian Defence Contract Management Service A
8 Indian Defence Estates Service A
9 Indian Defence Service of Engineers A
10 Indian Naval Armament Service A
11 Indian Ordnance Factories Service A
12 Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service A
13 Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services B

Other services under Ministry of Defence

Initiatives

SRIJAN portal

The SRIJAN is a portal launched by MoD to take up the products imported for indigenisation. According to Ministry; it displays defence products that have been imported recently and will tag with the Defence Public sector undertakings, Ordinance Factory Board and others to push for its domestic manufacturing for exports in future.

See also

References

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  3. IISS 2023, pp. 243–248
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  16. Peri, Dinakar (1 February 2018). "Modest hike in defence budget, pensions see sharp rise". The Hindu. New Delhi. ISSN 0971-751X. OCLC 13119119. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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