Who acts as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee ?

The Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) is the highest body within the Indian Armed Forces for inter-service coordination. Historically, the chairmanship of this committee was held by the senior-most Chief of Staff among the three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) on a rotational basis [1]. This convention ensured that the most experienced service chief presided over joint deliberations. While the President of India is the supreme commander of the defence forces [2], they do not chair this specific committee. Following the 2019 reforms, the newly created post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) now serves as the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee [2]. However, in the context of the traditional organizational structure provided in the options, the senior-most Chief of Staff is the correct functional role for the chairman.

Sources

1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipin_Rawat
2. [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_Defence_Staff_(India)