The government on Tuesday named retired Lt. Gen. Anil Chauhan as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). In May of last year, he announced his retirement as the Eastern Army Commander and assumed the role of Military Advisor to the National Security Council.
This is the first appointment of a retired officer to this position for which a gazette notification was published to inform the public of the modification to the appointment’s eligibility requirements. Lt Gen Chauhan has held a number of command, staff, and instrumental positions over his almost 40-year career and has vast expertise in counterinsurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and northeast India.
According to a formal statement, he would serve as Secretary to the Department of Military Affairs of the Government of India beginning on the day he assumed responsibility and continuing until further instructions.
Following General Bipin Rawat, who passed away in a helicopter mishap in Tamil Nadu in December of last year, Lt. General Anil Chauhan (retired) will be the country’s second CDS.
Lt Gen Anil Chauhan, who was born on May 18th, 1961, joined the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.
He graduated from both the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun and the National Defense Academy in Khadakwasla.
The leader, who had the rank of Major General, oversaw an Infantry Division in Northern Command’s crucial Baramula area.
He later oversaw a corps in the North East while serving as a lieutenant general. From September 2019 until his retirement from the military in May 2021, he served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command.
The officer held significant staff positions, including the position of Director General of Military Operations, in addition to these leadership postings.
The officer had previously worked on a UN mission in Angola.
On May 31, 2021, he retired from the Indian Army.
He kept making contributions to strategic and national security issues even after leaving the Army.
Lt. Gen. Anil Chauhan (retired) received the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, and Vishisht Seva Medal for his honourable and outstanding service in the Army.
The leaders of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force are the only four-star commanders in the nation, making the CDS the most senior uniformed officer in terms of rank and first among equals.
Since General Bipin Rawat’s passing on December 8 of last year, the position has been empty.
One of the largest changes to the country’s higher military hierarchy was welcomed when General Bipin Rawat was named CDS by the Narendra Modi administration six months after the party regained power in 2019.
The CDS is the senior-most bureaucrat in the defence ministry’s four main departments and serves as the government’s sole point of contact for receiving military advice.
The appointment comes as the administration works hard to promote indigenous manufacturing of defence force equipment.
