REPUBLIC OF INDIA'S FIRST IN DEFENSE

 FIRST IN DEFENSE (in the Republic of India)

1. Commander-in-Chief of Free India: General Sir Roy Bucher 
2. Indian Commander-in-Chief of Free India: General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1949
3. Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst
4. Indian Chief of Staff: General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, 1947
5. Commander-in-Chief, IAF: Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, 1954
6. Chief of Naval Staff: Vice Admiral R D Katari
7. Cosmonaut: Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 1984
8. Field Marshal: Sam Manekshaw, 1973
9. First Parsi Army Chief: Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
10. First Parsi Navy Chief: Admiral J L Cursetji
11. First Parsi Air Force Chief: Air Marshal Aspy Engineer
12. First Christian Army Chief: General Sunith Francis Rodrigues
13. First Christian Navy Chief: Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira
14. First Christian Air Force Chief: Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne
15. First Sikh Army Chief: General Joginder Jaswant Singh
16. First Sikh Air Force Chief: Air Marshal Arjan Singh
17. First Muslim Air Force Chief: Air Marshal Idris Hasan Latif
18. First female officer to be court martialled: Anjali Gupta

INDIAN DEFENCE SYSTEM

The combined Indian defense forces are ranked the third largest defense force in the world after the forces of USA and China. Indian army is the world’s second largest standing army, greater than that of People’s Republic of China and still it is short of manpower. Indian armed forces defend the vast lands, water and aerial borders of India and are renowned for their courage and valor. Indian armed forces have raised the country's honor in UN Peacekeeping Missions and have impressed everyone with their professionalism and discipline.

 Indian Armed Forces

The Government of India is responsible for ensuring the defence of India and every part thereof. The Supreme Command of the Indian Armed Forces vests in the President. The responsibility for national defence rests with the Cabinet. This is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The Indian Armed Forces comprise of three divisions – Indian Army, Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.

 Indian Army

The Indian subcontinent had witnessed the cohesive concentration of many Empires in the quest for control of military power, and governance of the State. As time rolled by, societal norms found an ethos in the workplace, the system of rights and privileges, and service under the flag.

The Indian Army, as we know it today became operational after the Country gained independence from British colonialism. The Indian Army's HQ is located in New Delhi and functions under the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is responsible for the command, control, and administration as a whole. The Army is divided into six operational commands (field armies) and one training command, each under the command of a Lieutenant General, who has an equal status to the Vice-Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), working under the control of Army HQ in New Delhi.

The Chief of the Army Staff is the commander and usually the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army cables and communication, and usually held by a 4-star officer in the rank of General. The current COAS is General Bikram Singh, who took office on 31 May 2012.

 Indian Navy

The foundation of the modern Indian Navy was laid in the seventeenth century when the East India Company had established a maritime force, thereby graduating in time to the establishment of the Royal Indian Navy in 1934. The Headquarters of the Indian Navy is located in New Delhi, and is under the command of the Chief of the naval staff – an Admiral. The Indian navy is deployed under three area commands, each headed by a flag officer. The Western Naval Command is headquartered in Bombay on the Arabian Sea; the Southern Naval Command in Kochi (Cochin), in Kerala, also on the Arabian Sea; and the Eastern Naval Command in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on the Bay of Bengal.

The Chief of the Naval Staff is the commander and typically the highest-ranking officer in the Indian Navy. The rank associated with the position is usually that of Admiral. The current Chief of the Naval Staff is Admiral D K Joshi, who took office on 31 August 2012 replaced Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma on 31 August 2012.

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8th October 1932, and on 1st April 1954, Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee, one of the founding members of the Air Force took over as the first Indian Chief of Air Staff. With the passage of time, the Indian Air Force undertook massive upgrading of its aircraft and equipments, and as part of the process, it introduced more than twenty new types of aircrafts. The last decade of the twentieth century saw a phenomenal change in the structure of the Indian Air Force with induction of women into the Air Force for short service commissions. It was also a time when the Air Force undertook some of the most perilous operations ever undertaken.

The head of the Indian Air Force is known as the Chief of the Air Staff (currently Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne). The position was held by an Air Commodore (1919-1923), by an Air Vice-Marshal (1923-1929) and by an Air Marshal (1929-1965). In 1965, the position was upgraded to that of an Air Chief Marshal. The highest rank in the IAF is Marshal of the Air Force, which is conferred by the President of India only in exceptional circumstances. It has only been given once in January, 2002 to Arjan Singh. The rank is equal to five stars General and a Field Marshal in the Army.