The Government of India has reportedly started the process for the formation of the new Indian Armed Forces Special Operation division, which will include commands from all three services.

Major general AK Dhingra has been appointed as the first general officer commanding the new division.

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The move follows the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval of the formation of the unit last year.

According to news agency ANI, the new division will comprise 3,000 commandos from the special forces of the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army, the Marine Commando (MARCOS) unit of the Indian Navy and the Garud unit of the Indian Air Force.

It will operate under the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and is expected to be headquartered in Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Once the division is organised, it is expected to become the first choice for carrying out anti-terrorist operations. Currently, such operations are generally undertaken by the army’s special units.

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An unnamed source with knowledge of the matter told livemint.com: “India has been facing terrorism threats for decades now and there has been a view that we need a special team to take on such threats with specialised forces operating in synergy with each other.”

Separately, India has announced plans to create special units to handle space and cyber warfare.

According to The Times of India, all three units of the Armed Forces Special Operation division are expected to become operational between October and November.