HQ IDS Silver Jubilee celebrations were held in New Delhi on Thursday, as Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff marked 25 years since it was raised on 1 October 2001. The day is observed as Tri-Service Day.

The jubilee ran on the theme Future readiness through jointness and integration. Its centrepiece was Trishakti Manthan, a round of deliberations addressed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, General NS Raja Subramani, and by the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), Air Marshal Tejinder Singh.

Over two and a half decades, HQ IDS has grown into the apex institution for jointness, integration and synergy among the three Services, with a focus on capability enhancement and joint employment of combat power, the Ministry of Defence said.

Trishakti Manthan opens HQ IDS Silver Jubilee

The sessions took stock of what HQ IDS has added to operational preparedness. Joint operational doctrines and joint training frameworks were on the list, along with integrated exercises and closer coordination of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mechanisms, according to a Defence Ministry release.

Air Mshl Tejinder Singh took over as CISC in July, moving into the tri-service post from South Western Air Command.

Silver Jubilee book, film and CDS Unit Citations

The HQ IDS Silver Jubilee Book traces the organisation's evolution and achievements across 25 years. A film on key milestones since its raising was released with it.

CDS Unit Citations were conferred on personnel for their contributions to jointness and integration.

Wreath laid at National War Memorial

A wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in New Delhi honoured those who made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. Gen Raja Subramani and Air Mshl Tejinder Singh paid homage at the eternal flame.

Cyber, space and AI on the HQ IDS agenda

HQ IDS has prepared the Defence Forces for emerging domains including cyber, space and artificial intelligence, the ministry said. That work has run alongside collaboration with research organisations, academia and industry to speed up indigenous capability development, in line with Aatmanirbhar Bharat in defence.

HQ IDS and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies run the Tri-Services Future Warfare Course, whose fourth edition in August covered artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and cyber, cognitive and information warfare.

Ran Samwad, JCC and CORE build joint mechanisms

Institutional platforms for jointness have been built up in parallel. The ministry named Ran Samwad, the Joint Commanders' Conference (JCC) and the Combined Operational Review and Evaluation (CORE) Programme, which give senior leaders a structured forum to deliberate on contemporary security challenges and to sharpen joint warfighting across the land, maritime, air, space, cyber and cognitive domains.

The CORE Programme 2026 concluded at the Manekshaw Centre in September, bringing senior officers of the three Services together with officials of the Ministries of Defence, External Affairs and Home Affairs.