New CDS : Lt Gen Anil Chauhan ( Retd) Takes Over ; Nine Months After Bipin Rawat Died In A Air Crash

Picture : Twitter/ ANI

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd), a former eastern Army commander and director general of military operations, was on Wednesday appointed as India’s new Chief of Defence Staff, more than nine months after the post fell vacant following the death of Gen Bipin Rawat.

As per report by ANI, Sixty-one-year-old Chauhan will also function as secretary, the Department of Military Affairs, with effect from the date of his assumption of charge, the defence ministry said.

In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast India.

Lt Gen Chauhan (retd) retired from the service in May last year when he was serving as the eastern Army Commander.

“The government has decided to appoint Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who shall also function as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Born on May 18, 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

n the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramulla sector in the Northern Command.

Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the Northeast and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.

In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.