Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) appointed as Chief of Defense Staff

New Delhi: Former Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command, Lt Gen (retd) Anil Chauhan was on Wednesday appointed as the Second Chief of the Defense Staff (CDS) with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders, an official statement said .

He will also serve as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs.

Lt Gen Chauhan (Retd) succeeds the first CDS, former Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash on December 8 last year.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Lt Gen Chauhan has held several command, staff and instrument assignments and has had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North East India.

Commissioned in 11 Gorkha Rifles in 1981, he is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

As a Major General, he commanded an infantry division in the critical Baramulla sector in the Northern Command and as a Lt. General he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently became the Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and was in charge until his retirement from service in May 2021

In addition to these command assignments, he also held important staff appointments, including Director General of Military Operations.

He also served in a UN mission in Angola.

(IANS)