Retired Lt General Anil Chauhan is next Chief of Defence Staff: a brief profile

Over 10 months after General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nad, the Narendra Modi government has appointed retired Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan as the chief of defence staff.

Chauhan, who last served as the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Indian Army’s eastern command, retired on May 31 after 40 years of service.
Prior to taking over the eastern army, he was director general of military operations in New Delhi.

Also Watch| Army chief Manoj Pande lists key lessons from standoff with China in Ladakh

As director general of military operations, the general officer was the main architect of ‘Op Sunrise’, under which coordinated operations were conducted by the Indian and Myanmar armies against insurgent groups operating near the border between the two countries.

Reports said Chuahan was also involved in the planning of the Balakot surgical strikes, including post-strike management of the escalation along the Indo-Pakistan border.

Rawat, his wife and 11 others died after the Mi-17V5 helicopter crashed in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021.