The Government on Wednesday appointed Lt General (retired) Anil Chauhan as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The decision came nearly ten months after the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash on December 8 last year. Both Rawat and Chauhan belong to the Gorkha Rifles.

The Defence Ministry said the CDS will 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.

In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Chauhan held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.

Born on May 18, 1961, Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy.

In the rank of Major General, the officer commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.

Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went on to become the chief of the Eastern Command. He held that charge from September 2019 until his retirement from the service in May 2021.

In June this year, the Government had changed the service rules for appointment of the CDS allowing retired Service Chiefs and three-star officers (Lt General or equivalent in the Navy and IAF) eligible for consideration for the country’s top military post.

The Government, however, had said the CDS should not have attained the age of 62 years thereby making the Service Chiefs more or less eligible as they retire at 62.

The CDS is the single point military adviser to the Government on matters of national security.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the creation of this critical post during his Independence address from the ramparts of Red Fort in 2019.