New Delhi, Sep 30 (UNI) General Anil Chauhan on Friday took over as the new Chief of Defence Staff in the capital.
Chief of Defence Staff is the single point contact for military advice to the government and senior most bureaucrat in the Defence Ministry.
Gen Chauhan shall also function as Secretary to Government of India, Department of Military Affairs.
The government had announced its decision to appoint the retired officer as the next Chief of Defence Staff on Sept 28.
In a brief interaction before taking charge, Gen Chauhan said that there are hopes and expectations among the three Services, government and citizens from the new CDS which, he said, he would fulfil to the best of his abilities.
He added that the security challenges facing the nation will be dealt with jointly by the Services.
As per the tradition, Gen Chauhan inspected the Tri-Service Guard of Honour before taking over as the second Chief of Defence Staff. He also paid tributes to India's fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the India Gate complex.
IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Marshal BR Krishna and other officials of the Defence Ministry were also present on the occasion.
The newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff also called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at South Block later in the day.
The post of CDS had been lying vacant since the death of India's first CDS General Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash in December last year.
Gen Rawat was killed in a Mi-17V5 crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 last year.
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 and Kashmir and North-East India.
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.
In the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.
Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.
In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations.
Earlier, the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola.
He 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.
For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
Gen Rawat was aggressively pursuing the integration in the armed forces by initiating several studies on creation of Theatre Commands and their structure.
The new CDS will have to carry forward the agenda of creating Theatre Commands and bringing jointness within the defence forces.
UNI ASU SHK1622