Govt appoints Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) as new Chief of Defence Staff

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retd), a former eastern Army commander and director general of military operations, was on Wednesday appointed as India's new Chief of Defence Staff, more than nine months after the post fell vacant following the death of Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.

Sixty-one-year-old Chauhan, known as a China expert, will also function as secretary in the Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders, the defence ministry said.

He was the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Army during the Balakot air strikes in 2019 when Indian airplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan in response to the Pulwama terror strike.