Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) To Be India's Next Chief of Defence Staff

This comes nine months after former Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat's death.

The Government of India appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), nine months after Bipin Rawat's death.

(Photo Courtesy: Ministry of Defence)

The Government of India appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), nine months after Bipin Rawat's death.

He will also function as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs, the Ministry of Defence said.

General Bipin Rawat, who was India's first CDS, and his wife passed away after their military chopper crashed in Tamil Nadu in December last year, killing 13 people on board.

Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles in 1981, and during his career, held several command, staff, and instructional appointments and is experienced in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.

The retired lieutenant general also served at the United Nations mission to Angola. 

The CDS acts as the permanent chairman of the Chief of Staff Committee and is the defence minister's main military advisor, besides providing impartial advice to the top leadership.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami congratulated Chauhan for being appointed as the new CDS.

"Hearty congratulations and best wishes to the son of Uttarakhand, Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan on being appointed as the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS)," Dhami tweeted.

Sambit Patra, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also congratulated Chauhan.

"Heartiest Congratulations to Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan Ji (Retired) on being appointed by the Indian government to the post of India's Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)," Patra said.