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Gen VK Singh takes over as Army chief on March 31
The government announced that Lieutenant General VK Singh would take over as the next army chief when General Deepak Kapoor retires on March 31. Singh, who was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment in June 1970, is currently heading the army’s Kolkata-based Eastern Command. HT Correspondent reports.
The government announced on Friday that Lieutenant General VK Singh would take over as the next army chief when General Deepak Kapoor retires on March 31. Singh, who was commissioned into the Rajput Regiment in June 1970, is currently heading the army’s Kolkata-based Eastern Command.
A veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war and IPKF (Indian Peacekeeping Keeping Force in Sri Lanka) operations, General Singh has commanded the army’s premier 2 Corps.
In the first reaction to his appointment, General Singh said in Kolkata, “I am grateful for this honour and the responsibility which our leaders have bestowed on me. I shall carry out my duties well to lead one of the world’s finest armies...”
Singh’s appointment was widely expected, as he is the senior-most general in the Army after General Kapoor. His appointment comes at a time when four Army generals, including Military Secretary Lieutenant General Avadhesh Prakash, are facing action for facilitating a dubious land deal near Sukna, West Bengal.
