What Is Integrated Theatre Commands That Oversaw Operation Sindoor Against Pakistan?

India’s Operation SINDOOR, initiated on May 7, 2025, within the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror assault, which claimed the lives of 26 blameless civilians, has showcased exemplary coordination between the tri-services – Indian Navy, Army and Air Force. ‘Operation Sindoor’ was once prolonged past its number one goal based on a Pakistani misadventure. While Operation SINDOOR was once conceived as a punitive and centered marketing campaign to dismantle the phobia infrastructure around the Line of Control and deeper within Pakistan, it additionally led to a truth take a look at for the Pakistani Army and referred to as out their nuclear bluff.

The four-day-long ‘Operation Sindoor’ become extremely a hit, and the Integrated Theatre Commands (ITC) performed a an important position in it. 

What Is Integrated Theatre Commands?

An ITC is a unified command construction that integrates the property and team of workers of the Army, Navy, and Air Force underneath a unmarried commander.

This unified manner is designed for particular geographical spaces (theatres) or useful domain names. It is geared toward reaching higher coordination, quicker decision-making, and enhanced struggle effectiveness by way of breaking down the standard service-specific silos.

“To modernise the Armed Forces, efforts are underway to restructure forces through the establishment of Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) and Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs). These reforms aim to optimize operational preparedness by unifying the Army, Navy, and Air Force capabilities based on geography and function,” stated the federal government.

It additionally stated that research on the Service Headquarters degree are actively exploring Theatre Commands for Land Borders, Maritime, and Joint/Integrated Air Defence to strengthen synergy and struggle effectiveness. The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan has emphasised that jointness and integration are crucial necessities for ITCs, which is able to obviously separate operational roles from administrative Raise-Train-Sustain (RTS) purposes, permitting commanders to concentrate on safety and operations. 

“ITCs represent the start of wider reforms toward multi-domain operations, integrating space and cyberspace with traditional domains, and advancing digitization and data-centric warfare,” stated the federal government.

Creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

The introduction of the put up of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in 2020 was once a big step against facilitating the implementation of theatre instructions, with the CDS tasked with restructuring army instructions to result in jointness.

On 24 December 2019, the Union Cabinet licensed the introduction of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), a four-star General who heads the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and acts because the fundamental army adviser to the Defence Minister on tri-Service issues.

Key roles of the CDS come with:

* Overseeing the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Territorial Army.

* Promoting jointness in procurement, coaching, staffing, and command restructuring.

* Leading tri-service organizations, together with cyber and area instructions.

* Advising the Nuclear Command Authority and taking part in defence making plans our bodies.

* Driving reforms to optimize assets, strengthen struggle features, and cut back waste.

* Implementing multi-year defence acquisition plans and prioritizing inter-Service wishes.

* The CDS strengthens unified management and fosters integration for a extra coordinated and fashionable Indian army.