Air force to assist ground forces, to be part of theatre commands: Bipin Rawat Sat, Jul 03 2021 08:44:00 AM New Delhi, Jul 3 (IANS): The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, said on Friday that the air force has to be there to assist the ground forces and will be part of theatre commands, even while maintaining its exclusive mandate. He also said that for the time being, the Northern Command of the army will remain as it is while for China and Pakistan, there will be dedicated integrated commands. These will have air force component integrated and will be separate from the 'Air Defence Command' which will be the exclusive mandate of the Indian Air Force, General Rawat said while addressing a webinar on Artificial Intelligence and other modern technologies, organised by the think-tank Global Counter-Terrorism Council.