Gen Anil Chauhan on Friday became India’s new Chief of Defence Staff with a mandate to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy and prepare the military for future security challenges.
Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country’s senior-most military commander over nine months after first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.
“I will try to fulfil expectations of the three services,” Gen Chauhan said.
Known as an expert on China, his appointment to the top post comes amid the lingering border row between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.
Sixty-one-year-old Chauhan will also function as Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs.
He retired from service on May 31 last year when he was serving as the Eastern Army Commander. After his retirement, he was serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) headed by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval.
Before assuming charge of the CDS, Gen Chauhan paid tributes to India’s fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the India Gate complex.
He was also accorded a tri-services guard of honour at the lawns of the South Block in the Raisina Hills.
Born on May 18, 1961, Gen Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981.
As CDS, Gen Chauhan’s primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.
Last year, the Department of Military Affairs headed by Gen Rawat had asked all three services to carry out independent studies on the theaterisation plan for its rollout.
However, the process did not move further after the death of Gen Rawat on December 8, 2021.
