Lt General Anil Chauhan (retd) appointed as new Chief of Defence Staff

The government on Tuesday appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan retired as the new Chief of Defence Staff CDS He had retired as the Eastern Army Commander in May last year and was serving as the Military Advisor to the National Security CouncilThis is the first time that a retired officer has been appointed at this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointmentIn a career spanning over nearly 40 years Lt Gen Chauhan has held several command staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counterinsurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast IndiaHe will also function as Secretary to the Government of India Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders an official release saidAlso Read Now get Police Clearance Certificates from Post Office Passport Seva KendrasLt General Anil Chauhan retired will be the second CDS of the country after Gen Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash in December last year in Tamil NaduBorn on 18th May 1961 Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy DehradunIn the rank of Maj General the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern CommandLater as Lt General he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer CommandinginChief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021In addition to these command appointments the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military OperationsEarlier the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to AngolaHe superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021Even after his retirement from the Army he continued to contribute to national security and strategic mattersFor 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 MedalThe CDS is the most senior uniformed officer in rank the first among equals the only fourstar officers in the country are the CDS the chiefs of the Indian Army Indian Navy and Indian Air ForceThe post was lying vacant since December 8 last year after the death of General Bipin RawatWhen General Bipin Rawat was appointed CDS by the Narendra Modi government within six months of coming back to power in 2019 it was hailed as one of the biggest reforms in the higher military structure of the countryThe CDS is also the single point of contact for the government for giving military advice and is the seniormost bureaucrat in the defence ministry which has four major departmentsThe appointment comes amid efforts by the government to give a big push to indigenisation in the equipment for defence forcesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever