This institution trains military leaders in defence management. It’s set to get the President’s Colours

Maj Gen Harsh Chhibber, CDM Commandant, briefs the media on the President's Colours being awarded to the College of Defence Management. | @HQ_IDS_IndiaX

New Delhi: The College of Defence Management (CDM), Secunderabad, is all set to be presented with the President’s Colours on 24 December, among the highest honours for the institution.

Established in 1970, the tri-service institution was founded to address the need to train senior military leaders in the managerial and strategic planning aspects of modern warfare to supplement their combat operations skills. It is mandated to provide research and consultancy to the defence forces.

It was the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War that highlighted the need for military commanders to develop strategic perspective, superior resource management, and operational art for optimal synergy and effectiveness.

The institution was called the Institute of Defence Management (IDM) when it first started on 7 July 1970 in Secunderabad.

Initially, the CDM only focused on providing training in administrative functions, resource management, and the efficient handling of military assets. However, Brigadier V. Dhruva, the first Commandant, introduced courses in management and decision-making.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the college moved on from offering programmes focused on the administrative and logistical aspects of warfare and began teaching leadership development, strategic planning, decision sciences, and organisational theory.

It further expanded its curriculum and gave out lessons in international relations, macroeconomic policies, and the broader strategic landscape.

Eventually, the CDM also began offering short-term courses and seminars focused on contemporary aspects of modern warfare such as information warfare, cyber security, and defence economics.

The CDM now trains senior officers in big data analytics, data-based decision-making and artificial intelligence in warfare, integrated defence policy analysis, and conflict resolution as these aspects emerge as new challenges in today’s warfare.

As part of the professional military education, the college offers programmes such as a Higher Defence Management Course (HDMC), Senior Defence Management Course (SDMC) and specialised short-term courses on subjects ranging from resource management, organisational behaviour, big data analytics, decision making, net assessment, negotiations, among others.

CDM’s faculty has 30 PhD and 99 MPhils. It has a repository of 4,357 dissertations, 4,429 case studies, and 512 project studies.

The President’s Colour is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon any military unit of India.