NEW DELHI, May 15 -- Outgoing Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Thursday that the creation of theatre commands should have happened during his tenure but Operation Sindoor caused some delays. "In my tenure, we should have finished this theatre command business. That didn't happen because for about six to eight months during Sindoor and after that.we got busy. The Chiefs of Staff Committee never had the time to meet and take this process forward," he said at a defence strategic dialogue. The next CDS will have to speed up the theaterisation drive. On May 9, India named Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani as CDS; he will assume office on May 30. The appointment arrives at a pivotal moment as the armed forces advance theaterisation, a long-awaited reform designed to integrate the military's resources for future conflicts. "Finally, I concluded those discussions (on theatre commands) and handed over my report to the defence minister. Reforms are an unending process. If you are static or you don't reform.you will become extinct one day like dinosaurs," said Chauhan, who was appointed CDS in September 2022. The new CDS is expected to fast-track the establishment of joint services commands. These commands will integrate military elements, assets, and personnel from the three services under a single commander-in-chief. The model involves raising a China-centric northern theatre command in Lucknow, a Pakistan-centric western theatre command in Jaipur, and a maritime theatre command in Thiruvananthapuram....