Government appoints Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) as next Chief of Defence Staff

New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday announced that Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) will be the new Chief of Defence Staff.

Chauhan was appointed to the top post nine months after General Bipin Rawat's death. India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, died in a chopped crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor in December 2021.

The Government has decided to appoint Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM 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, the Ministry of Defence said.

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan held several important posts in his 40 years-old career. He had held several appointments and has extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.

The defence ministry informed that the new CDS is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command when he served in the area as Major General. He is credited to command a corps in the North East 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.

He also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.

Earlier, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola. The officer superannuated from the Indian Army on May 31, 2021. Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters. 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.