ACC approved the extension of tenure of General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff till May, 2026

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of service of General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) till 30 May, 2026.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of service of General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He will also serve as Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs of the Government of India till 30 May, 2026 or until further orders. General Chauhan was appointed CDS on 28 September, 2022.
• For his exemplary services to the Indian Army, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
• General Anil Chauhan successfully led the armed forces in Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, which was carried out in retaliation for the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed.
• He was commissioned in the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. As a Major General, Anil Chauhan commanded an infantry division in the important Baramulla sector of the Northern Command. As a Lieutenant General, he commanded a corps in the North East.
• Anil Chauhan became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command in September 2019. He served in this position till his retirement in May, 2021.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS):

• Background: Its creation was recommended in 2001 by a Group of Ministers (GoM) that was tasked with studying the report of the Kargil Review Committee (1999).
• After the recommendations of the GoM, the government created the Integrated Defence Staff in 2002 for the establishment of the post of CDS, which was ultimately to function as the secretariat of the CDS.
• In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to dispel apprehensions about the CDS.
• Finally, the post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts headed by Lieutenant General D.B. Shekatkar.
• General Bipin Rawat was the first CDS of the country and was appointed on 31 December, 2019.