Modi Government Appoints Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retd) As India's 2nd Chief Of Defence Staff

The Narendra Modi government has announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (Retd) as India's second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

The development comes over nine months after General Bipin Rawat, India's first CDS, was killed in a chopper crash near Tamil Nadu's Coonoor. General Rawat, who was on board an Indian Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter, was traveling to Defence Staff College in Wellington.

Lt Gen Chauhan retired from the Indian Army in May 2021. Before his retirement, he served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command.

The Eastern Command is responsible for India's borders in West Bengal, Sikkim, and the northeast, including India's frontier with Tibet and the Line of Actual Control with China in Arunachal.

"In the rank of Maj 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 North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019," the Defence Ministry said.

The ministry of defense said the retired Lt General will also function as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs.

The post of CDS was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech in 2019. General Rawat served as the first CDS from 1 January 2020 to 8 December 2021.

In June this year, the government has amended the service rules of the Army, Navy and Air Force to make serving three-star officers and retired three- and four-star officers eligible for appointment to the post of CDS.

The CDS is the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and also serves as the principal adviser to the defence minister and the political leadership on matters of defence and security.