Gen Anil Chauhan appointed new CDS

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd), military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), has been named as the next CDS. The post was lying vacant for over nine months after the country’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat was killed in a chopper crash last December

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (retd), the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and a former Eastern Army Commander, will be India’s next chief of defence staff (CDS), the government announced on Wednesday.

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles, the same regiment as former CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, in 1981.

The post was lying vacant for over nine months after the country’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat was killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu last December.

The appointment comes almost four months after government amended the Army, Air Force and Navy rules in early June to broaden the pool for the selection of the CDS --- it made retired three-star officers among those eligible for the top post.

“General Chauhan shall also function as secretary, department of military affairs (DMA) with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders,” the defence ministry said.

Born on May 18, 1961, Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles (the same regiment as Rawat) in 1981. As CDS, he will also be the permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee (COSC) and the single-point military adviser to the defence minister.

Chauhan was the Eastern Army commander from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement in May 2021.

Accelerating the theatersisation drive and enhancing synergy among the armed forces will be Chauhan’s top priority as CDS. The theaterisation drive slowed down after Rawat’s death and providing impetus to the long-awaited military reform will be one of the top focus areas.

The current theaterisation model to enhance tri-service synergy seeks to set up four integrated commands - two land-centric theatres, an air defence command and a maritime theatre command. The armed forces currently have 17 single-service commands spread across the country. The army and air force have seven commands each, while the Indian navy has three.

DMA has been assigned critical responsibilities that include overseeing matters related to India’s neighbouring countries including border disputes and incidents, development of infrastructure in forward areas and deployment of forces

Monitoring developments in the Indian Ocean region, Afghanistan, West Asia and South East Asia, and supply of arms and ammunition to friendly countries also come under the purview of the DMA.

Some other responsibilities include restructuring of the army, operational matters of the Indian Air Force, overseas deployment of warships and coastal security.