The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the principal military authority and senior-most appointment of the Indian Armed Forces.

[6] Statutorily, the CDS is the presiding secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, the civil-cum-military entity responsible for fostering professional coordination between the services, and by extension, is also the principal military advisor to the nation’s civilian leadership i.e., the Ministry of Defence on affairs privy to inter-service integration; as such, the office exists primarily as an advisor and adjudicator position, endowed with no operational command control.

It comprises the chiefs of the three armed services, in addition to the CDS - who acts as its Permanent Chairman, responsible for the following duties:[10] The DMA is one of the five departments within the Ministry of Defence, which functions as a joint civilian-cum-military syndicate tasked with overseeing administrative duties related to the headquarters of the three armed services, the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) plus the Territorial Army, and procurement initiatives except for capital acquisitions.

[16][17] However, Rawat's unexpected death in 2021 whilst in tenure exposed this flaw, which consequently left the office of CDS vacant for nine months before a successor.

[18] Previously, in the event of an abrupt stoppage during the incumbent's tenure - by termination, resignation or sudden demise, the senior-most service chief was made acting-COSC and by extension, an ex officio-CDS until a suitable successor was appointed; this situation has occurred only once, when General Manoj Mukund Naravane, then-Chief of the Army Staff, was made acting-COSC upon the death of General Rawat, the then-incumbent CDS.