New Delhi. 02 October 2023. Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is celebrating its 23rd Raising Day on October 01, 2023. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt Gen JP Mathew laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi and paid homage to fallen heroes on the occasion. The CISC has extended felicitations to all ranks of the ‘Purple Fraternity’ and exhorted them to continue striving to achieve the goal of a truly integrated Armed Forces.

The HQ IDS was raised on October 01, 2001 as a Tri-Service entity to fulfill the vital objective towards India’s national security architecture. It remains at the forefront of multiple initiatives aimed at furthering the integration and jointness among the Services, duly living up to its motto ‘Victory Through Jointness’.

Over the past two decades, HQ IDS has led the efforts of the Defence Services in promoting key national endeavours like force structuring and capability development, technology management, consolidating defence intelligence, promoting military diplomacy, enhancing joint training of the three services and also with friendly foreign countries, developing interoperable operational logistics, progressing major procurements for the Armed Forces and conducting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. Key milestones of operationalisation of Defence Space Agency, Defence Cyber Agency and Armed Forces Special Operations Division as Joint Organisations have also been achieved.

The creation of Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and institution of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) are transformative reforms that have given the much-needed impetus to Tri-Services synergy, modernisation and transformation of Defence Services and their integration in the Higher Defence Organisation of the Nation.