New Delhi: The Government of India appointed Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (Retd) as the next Chief of Defense Staff. He will also serve as the Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, Government of India. This information was given by the Ministry of Defense.
According to the information of the Ministry of Defense, Anil Chauhan has been the Commander of the Eastern Command of the country’s DGMAO, Army. These days he was posted as Military Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat. Lt Gen Anil Chauhan has held numerous command, staff, and assistant appointments in a career spanning over 40 years and has vast experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, and North-East India. The military post of CDS was vacant after the death of General Bipin Rawat.
General Bipin Rawat died in the accident
In December last year, India’s first Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat, and his wife were killed in a military helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. A total of 13 people were killed in this accident. At the same time, the Air Force Captain who survived this accident later died of burns.
Significantly, General Bipin Rawat took charge as India’s first Chief of Defense Staff in January 2020. The post was created to integrate the three services- (Army, Navy, and Air Force). It is to be known that the Chief of Defense Staff is the permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. Also, apart from giving impartial advice to the political leadership, there is also a Chief Military Adviser to the Defense Minister.
Who is Lt Gen Anil Chauhan
- Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.
- He studied at the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kolkata and credits the city for shaping him as a soldier.
- He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
- In the rank of Major 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 northeast 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.
- In addition to these command appointments, he also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.
- Lt Gen Chauhan (retd) had also served on a United Nations mission to Angola.
- He superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021.
- Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.
