Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd) Appointed as CDS

The Government has appointed Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (Retd) as the Chief of Defence Staff, who will also function as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs, with effect from the date of assumption of charge and until further orders. The present Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, will complete his tenure.

Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani is currently Military Adviser, National Security Council Secretariat. Prior to this, he served as Vice Chief of the Army Staff and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command.

A graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles. He is also an alumnus of the Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King’s College London and an MPhil in Defence Studies from Madras University.

Over a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years, Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has served across diverse operational environments and held several command, staff, and instructional appointments. He commanded 16 Garhwal Rifles in counter-insurgency operations in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu & Kashmir, and 17 Mountain Division in the central sector during a challenging operational environment. He also commanded 2 Corps, the Indian Army’s premier strike corps on the Western Front.

His staff and instructional appointments include Divisional Officer at the National Defence Academy, Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, Defence Attaché in Kazakhstan, Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary’s Branch, Colonel General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command, Deputy Commander of a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in Jammu & Kashmir, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army), Brigadier General Staff (Operations) in Eastern Command, Chief Instructor (Army) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Command. He has a deep understanding of operational dynamics across both the Western and Northern borders.

For his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, and Vishisht Seva Medal.