Nine months after General Rawat's death, Centre appoints Lt General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff

New Delhi: Nine months after the death of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash, the Centre on Wednesday appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) the new Chief of Defence Staff. Lt General Chauhan (R) has become only the second person to hold India’s top military post which has been lying vacant since his predecessor General Rawat’s demise. “The Government has decided to appoint Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retired) 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,” a defence ministry statement said. Who is Lt Gen Chauhan (R)? Lt Gen Chauhan (R) is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East India. He retired as the Eastern Command chief in 2021. Role of the Chief of Defence Staff The CDS is the principal military advisor to the government. At the time of the post’s creation, the government said that the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS will oversee the “facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint/theatre commands.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.