Lt Gen Anil Chauhan appointed Chief of Defence Staff

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, September 28

Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) has been appointed as the Chief of Defence Staff and he will also function as Secretary Department of Military Affairs.

The post of CDS and Secretary DMA had been vacant for almost 10 months since Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in December last year.

The Government order to appoint Lt Gen Chauhan came on Wednesday evening but it did not mention his tenure. Rather, it said he will be CDS and Secretary DMA “until further orders”.

In June this year the government amended laws to allow any serving or retired three-star officer under the age of 62 to be eligible for the post of CDS. General Chauhan, the new CDS, is under 62 years. He retired at the age of 60 as the Eastern Army Commander in May 2021. The Chiefs of the three forces anyway retire at 62 years of age.

The amended laws meant that the CDS need not be serving Chief of the Army, IAF or the Navy. The government had then issued a separate notification saying the tenure of the CDS can be, as per requirements, subjected to a maximum age of 65 years.

Born on May 18, 1961, Lt Gen Chauhan was commissioned into the 6th battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles Regiment in 1981.

Originally his family hails from Uttarakhand.

General Chauhan has commanded the Eastern Command, Kolkatta, he has been the Director General of Military operations (DGMO) and commanded the 3 Corps based at Dimapur and tasked to far eastern Arunachal Pradesh.

General Chauhan has had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir. As a Maj General, he commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.

General Chauhan has also served as a United Nations mission to Angola.

Role of CDS and DMA

The CDS is responsible for joint planning for procurement, training and staffing for the services. He is tasked with facilitation of restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about joint efforts in operations through establishment of theatre commands. He will be promoting use of indigenous equipment by the services.

The Department of Military Affairs will be looking after the work of the Armed Forces of the Union, namely Army, Navy and Air Force. The Territorial Army and the works related to the Army, Navy and Air Force will also fall under the department. Except capital acquisitions, the DMA will also handle procurement exclusive to the services.