The defence ministry said that this decision marks a shift from the earlier system wherein instructions/orders pertaining to two or more services were issued by each service separately. Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday authorised the chief of defence staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, who also heads the department of military affairs, to issue “joint instructions and joint orders” for the three services, a step aimed at boosting jointness in the armed forces.
“This marks a shift from the earlier system wherein instructions/orders pertaining to two or more services were issued by each service separately,” the defence ministry said, calling it a major step towards modernisation and transformation of the country’s military.
The move comes weeks after India notified new rules under an overarching law to boost jointness, command efficiency and operational synergy in the armed forces at a critical moment when they are charting a path towards theaterisation — a long-awaited reform for the best use of the military’s resources to fight future wars.The two developments come in the aftermath of the May 7-10 clash with Pakistan under Operation Sindoor that saw the three services work jointly for best battle outcomes.
The first joint order on ‘Approval, Promulgation and Numbering of Joint Instructions and Joint Orders’ issued on Tuesday “emphasises the need to streamline procedures, eliminate redundancies and enhance cross-service cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement. “This initiative lays the foundation for improved transparency, coordination and administrative efficiency in the three services.”
Earlier, the government notified the rules under the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 in the Gazette of India on May 27, signalling its intent to fast-track the setting up of joint services commands — a key goal of the ongoing theaterisation drive. Such commands will consist of military elements, assets, and personnel drawn from the three services and placed under a commander-in-chief.
Jointness among the three services is an essential prerequisite to the creation of theatre commands and was in focus during Operation Sindoor — New Delhi’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. It led to a four-day confrontation that showcased the Indian military’s synergy.
The move came a year after the Act was notified in the gazette, empowering the government to set up Inter-Services Organisations — including joint services commands — and bestowing powers on the heads of such organisations to exercise command and control over the tri-services personnel serving under them to ensure discipline and effective discharge of duties.
Such personnel were earlier governed by the respective laws of the three services: the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957. The setting up of theatre commands for integrated application of force, operational efficiency, and optimal resource utilisation is among the nine areas identified by the defence ministry for focused intervention in 2025, which the ministry has declared as the “year of reforms.”
Other areas include building indigenous capabilities to strengthen the armed forces, simplifying acquisition procedures for swifter capability development and new domains such as cyber and space. The theaterisation model being pursued involves raising the China-centric northern theatre command in Lucknow, the Pakistan-centric western theatre command in Jaipur, and the maritime theatre command in Thiruvananthapuram.
The earlier legal framework of the armed forces had its limitations when it came to tri-services matters as officers of one service lacked the authority to exercise disciplinary and administrative powers over personnel belonging to another service. For instance, a three-star general heading a joint command could not act against air force or navy personnel serving under him. The lack of such powers had a direct impact on command, control and discipline.
