Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) appointed India's Chief of Defence Staff

The Centre has appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will also function as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs.

Lt General Chauhan had retired as Eastern Command Chief in May 2021. His appointment comes nine months after the death of General Bipin Rawat, the first CDS, in a helicopter crash in December 2021.

General Rawat took charge as India's first Chief of Defence Staff in January 2020. The position was created to integrate the three services - the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East India.

Who is Anil Chauhan?

Born on May 18, 1961, Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. 

In the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command. Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East 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.

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