Lt. General Anil Chauhan becomes next CDS

September 29, 2022

Lt. General Anil Chauhan was appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

Key facts

The Central Government appointed the former Eastern Army Commander Lt. General Anil Chauhan (retired) as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
The post of Chief of Defence Staff was vacant for over 9 months since the death of the first CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat lost his life in a helicopter crash in December 2021.
General Anil Chauhan has over 40 years’ experience as he held several key command, staff and instrumental appointments.
He was involved in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast India.
Lt Gen Chauhan was an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
He served as part of the 11^th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army.
In the rank of Major General, he commanded the Infantry Division in Baramula sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
When he became Lieutenant General, he commanded a Corps in the North East and later went on to become the Eastern Army Commander in September 2019.
He headed the Eastern Army Command until his retirement on May 31, 2021.
After his retirement, he became the Military Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in October 2021.
Apart from holding commanding posts, he also served as the Director General of Military Operations.

About CDS

The post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was created in December 2019. The CDS would act as the Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister and the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). He is the ex-officio secretary of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), which was created as the fifth department of the Ministry of Defence. The age limit for the CDS is 65 years of age without any fixed tenure.

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