Headed by the Chief of Defence Staff,[1][2] as its ex-officio secretary,[3] the DMA provides integration between the armed forces of the Union and the Ministry of Defence.

[4][5] Consisting of military and civilian officers, the DMA will promote jointness in various areas such as procurement, training and staffing.

[6] The DMA will deal the tri-service Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) Headquarters, with the headquarters of three armed force Army, Air and Naval, the Territorial Army and certain procurement requirements.

DMA will also deal with promoting jointness through joint planning, facilitate restructuring for optimal utilisation of resources and promote the use of indigenous equipment by the Services.

[1][4] As per the Second Schedule to Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, the following subjects were allocated to DMA:-[7] The department comes under the Ministry of Defence and is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, who acts as its ex-officio secretary.