Amid Indian Armed Forces' Theaterisation Plan, Government Notifies New Act Empowering Heads Of Inter-Services Organisations

The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act has been notified in a gazette and has been enforced with effect from 10 May, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

The move comes amid the theaterisation plan envisioned by the government.

Under the theaterisation model, the government seeks to integrate the capabilities of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, and optimally utilise their resources for wars and operations.

The Act empowers Commanders-in-Chief and Officers-in-Command of ISOs to exercise control over service personnel, serving under them, for effective maintenance of discipline and administration, without disturbing the unique service conditions of each individual service.

The bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament during the Monsoon Session of 2023 and became a law after receiving the assent of the President on 15 August last year.

"With the notification, the Act will empower the Heads of ISOs and pave the way for expeditious disposal of cases, avoid multiple proceedings and will be a step towards greater integration and jointness among the Armed Forces personnel," the ministry said.

In an interview with news agency PTI last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the theaterisation process in the military is making progress as consensus is emerging among the three services on the ambitious initiative.

The armed forces are committed to the theaterisation initiative because the initiative will integrate the capabilities of the three services and ensure better utilisation of resources, he said.

As per the theaterisation plan, each of the theatre commands will have units of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and all of them will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory.

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