A ‘Chair of Excellence’ in memory of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)General Bipin Rawat will be set up at the United Services Service Institution(USI), a leading military think tank.
The announcement in this regard by Army Chief General M M Naravane here on Tuesday came a day ahead of the 65th birthday of General Rawat. He was killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 along with his wife Madhulika and 12 armed forces personnel.
The 'General Bipin Rawat memorial Chair of Excellence' will focus on the field of jointness and integration among the armed forces.
"Late General Bipin Rawat who served as India's first CDS as well as the 27th Chief of Indian Army was an outstanding professional and was in the midst of steering one of the most radical transformations of the Indian military," the Army said.
"The Chair of Excellence is a befitting tribute to the astute leadership and professionalism of the General," it said in a statement. Naravane said General Rawat was passionate about strategic thoughts and invested considerable time and energy in the activities of various think tanks.
"And, therefore, his 65th birthday provided an opportune moment to reinforce the services' bond with their intellectual institutions. The Chair will be open to veterans of three services and civilians having expertise in the field of national security," Naravane said.
The topic for this year's research has been chosen as "jointness and integration in the context of land warfare in India", officials said. They said the 'Chair of Excellence' will be open to all veteran officers of the armed forces and civilians having expertise in the field of national security and military affairs. The period of research would be from July 1 for a period of one year, every year.
General Rawat took charge as the first CDS on January 1, 2020, with a mandate to bring in convergence in the functioning of the Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force and bolster the country's overall military prowess.
A key mandate of the CDS was to facilitate the restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of theatre commands. As the CDS, General Rawat carried out the extensive groundwork to roll out tri-services reforms.