General Anil Chauhan - India's second Chief of Defence Staff

New Delhi: General Anil Chauhan took over as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in a brief ceremony in New Delhi on Friday. Chauhan was sworn in as India's second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) a short while ago. The government, earlier this week, appointed Chauhan as the successor of late General Bipin Rawat, the first CDS of India, nine months after his tragic death in a chopper crash.

"I am proud to be assuming the responsibility of the highest rank in the Indian Armed Forces. I will try to fulfill the expectations from the three defence forces as the Chief of Defence Staff. We will tackle all challenges and difficulties together," CDS General Anil Chauhan said while talking to reporters.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan received the Guard of Honour at the South Block, Delhi. Earlier during the day, he paid tributes at the National War Memorial and met the three service chiefs - Army chief General Manoj Pande, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Navy vice chief Vice Admiral SN Ghormade and Air Marshal BR Krishna.

Later during the day, he also called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at his South Block office.

Now a four-star General, Chauhan is the first retired officer to to return to service in four-star rank. After retiring as the Eastern Army Commander last year, Chauhan has been serving as the military adviser in the National Security Council Secretariat headed by NSA Ajit Doval. During a 40-year-career in uniform, Chauhan has held several staff and instrumental appointments across the country and has had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.

He was also instrumental in ensuring the Indian Army's combat readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sectors during his tenure as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command.