Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Anil Chauhan (retired), a former Eastern Army Commander and Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), has been appointed as India's new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on Wednesday (September 28). The post remained vacant for more than nine months after the sudden demise of India's first CDS Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021, in Tamil Nadu.
The defence ministry released an official statement that read, "The government has decided to appoint Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who shall also function as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders."
Who Is Lt Gn Anil Chauhan (Rtd)?
The 61-year-old is a decorated Army officer and a China expert. He was the DGMO of the Indian Army during the 2019 Balakot air strikes when Indian aircrafts pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
After Lt Gn's retirement last year as the Eastern Army Commander, he has been serving as the military advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.
Lt Chauhan will assume the rank of the four-star General once he takes charge as the country's second CDS. He will be the first retired three-star officer to return to service in four-star rank, as reported by NDTV.
Early Life & Career Spanning 40 Years
Anil Chauhan was born on May 18, 1961, and was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He retired from the service when serving as the Eastern Army Commander rank in May 2021.
At the rank of Eastern Army Commander, he significantly bolstered the country's overall combat readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sectors. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
As the Maj Gn, he commanded an Infantry Division in the crucial Baramulla sector in the Northern Command. Later as Lt Gn, he commanded a corps in the Northeast and eventually became the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command, effective September 2019. He held the charge until he retired from the service last year.
In addition to these command appointments, the Army officer also tenanted essential staff appointments, including the charge of DGMO. Earlier, he had also served on a United Nations mission to Angola.
For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
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