Parliament Nod To Key Defence Bill. Next Step Theatre Commands?
The parliament passed an important defence bill that seeks to empower the Commander-in-chief (C-in-C) and the Officer-in-Command (O-in-C) of an Inter-Service Organistion (ISO) with disciplinary, command and control authority over personnel from other forces serving in the ISO. The bill was initially tabled in the parliament in March this year during the Budget Session but was sent to the Standing Committee on Defence, which submitted its report in the Lok Sabha in July. The report answers several questions and highlights important facets of the bill, including the creation of an Inter-Service Organization or the much-discussed Theatre Command. India currently has two tri-services commands; The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) and the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). The former is an operational tri-services organisation established in 2001, the latter is responsible for the management of India’s nuclear assets and falls under the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) which is headed by the