Modi Announces New Post Of Chief Of Defence Staff On I-Day

PM also stresses on Jal Jeevan Mission and pitches for population control

- Nistula Hebbar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Thursday was full of big bang announcements like appointing a Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), 20 years after a review committee on the Kargil War had suggested it, and the setting aside of ₹3.5 lakh crore for a Jal Jeevan Mission for water conservation.

The announcements followed a summing up of what his government had accomplished in its first 75 days, a blitzkrieg pace that he said he would keep to in future.

The demand for CDS was raised after a review of the conduct of the Kargil War, during the time of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. The appointment of a CDS would have far-reaching ramifications for defence preparedness and co-ordination among the three services.

Seeks people’s support

“Just as I called upon the country to join the Swachchta Mission to make India Open Defecation Free, I ask that you join the Jal Jeevan Mission which cannot succeed unless people participate on a mass level,” he said.