ABSTRACT
Following the Chinese attack in October 1962, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet was replaced by the Committee called the Emergency Committee of the Cabinet. The Defence Minister's Committee was revamped and activated. A number of new Committees came inlo existence mainly with a view to speed the build-up of the defence forces to meet any further moves by China in 1963. While these Committees did contribute in some measure in accelerating the build up of the defence forces, as the Chinese threat ceased to be imminent, the Committees became gardually circumscribed in power and they u1timately disappeared. Dut the arrangement where by the Defence Minister continued to keep
c!osc conlrol over organisational and operational matters continucd ; the Joint Intelligence Committee was given an independent Chairman and placed in the Cabinet Secretariat, while a reogranised Joint Planning Committee bad a chequered career of about two years and quietly disappeared. During the lndo-Pak war of 1965 and in times of crisis earlier, these organisations were s·Jpplemented by ad hoc groups of Ministers and of Secretaries. While perhaps there was better coordination and decisions were taken more promptly than before, the arrangement suiTered from being not comprehensive and yet too cumbersome.
