General Anil Chauhan takes charge as India’s new Chief of Defence Staff

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Gen Anil Chauhan on Friday became India’s new Chief of Defence Staff with a mandate to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy and prepare the military for future security challenges. Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country’s senior-most military commander over nine months after first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.  

“I will try to fulfil expectations of the three services,” Gen Chauhan said. Known as an expert on China, his appointment to the top post comes amid the lingering border row between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. Sixty-one-year-old Chauhan will also function as Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs.    

He retired from service on May 31 last year when he was serving as the Eastern Army Commander. After his retirement, he was serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) headed by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval. Before assuming charge of the CDS, Gen Chauhan paid tributes to India’s fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the India Gate complex. He was also accorded a tri-services guard of honour at the lawns of the South Block in the Raisina Hills.