New Delhi. 28 September 2022. The wait is finally over. Government of India has  appointed Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (Retd) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will also function as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Military Affairs.  

He previously served as the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army. He was previously the Commander, III Corps of the Indian Army and took over this role from Lt. General Abhay Krishna. Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan, a PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command.

As per the MoD, in his career spanning over nearly 40 years, Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East India.Earlier, the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola. The officer superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021. Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.

Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

It may be recalled that the post had fallen vacant post the untimely demise of first CDS Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash last December.