HQ IDS Silver Jubilee: 25 years of jointness, marked as Tri-Service Day
Why in the news
Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) completed 25 years on 1 October 2026. The Silver Jubilee was celebrated in New Delhi and observed as Tri-Service Day.
Key facts
- Raising date: HQ IDS was set up in New Delhi on 1 October 2001 to promote jointness, integration and synergy among the Army, Navy and Air Force.
- Dignitaries: Chief of Defence Staff and Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, General N.S. Raja Subramani, and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Air Marshal Tejinder Singh.
- Trishakti Manthan: a deliberation session held on the theme of future readiness through jointness and integration.
- Releases: a Silver Jubilee book tracing the evolution of HQ IDS and a film on its milestones.
- CDS Unit Citations were given to personnel for advancing jointness and integration.
- A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the National War Memorial.
About HQ IDS
HQ IDS was created after the 1999 Kargil conflict, following the Kargil Review Committee (chaired by K. Subrahmanyam) and the 2001 Group of Ministers report on reforming the national security system. It brought together the Defence Planning Staff and the Military Wing. It is headed by the CISC, who reports to the Chief of Defence Staff, a post created in December 2019. Over 25 years, HQ IDS has worked on joint doctrines, training, integrated exercises and disaster relief coordination, and on new domains such as cyber, space and artificial intelligence.
General N.S. Raja Subramani took charge as India’s third CDS on 31 May 2026, succeeding General Anil Chauhan.
Exam angle
- HQ IDS raising day: 1 October 2001, New Delhi.
- Head of HQ IDS: CISC (currently Air Marshal Tejinder Singh).
- Current CDS: General N.S. Raja Subramani (third CDS).
- CDS post created in December 2019.