General Bipin Rawat, nation’s 1st CDS was on board Mi-17 which crashed in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi: In an unfortunate incident, an Army helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and his family members crashed in Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

According to reports, a Mi-series chopper was also carrying defence officials that crashed in Nilgiri hills.

About CDS Bipin Rawat

The Centre on December 30, 2019, appointed Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat as the first tri-service chief. This was the first time that this position has been created by the central government and appointed General Rawat as the topmost defence officer of the country to be the main point of contact for the government for dealing with defence forces’ issues.

General Bipin Rawat was to serve till March 2022 as the CDS where his main role would be to create synergy in the operations and finances of the three services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in his Independence Day speech on August 15. The recommendation for CDS had first been made after the Kargil War. It was argued that this post will create better coordination between the three services — the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval played a crucial role along with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar to finalise the roles and responsibilities of the new office of the Chief of Defence Staff.

Rawat is credited for bringing the major transformation in the Army structure and turning it into a mean and mean fighting machine of the future