Chief of Defence Staff On 8 December 2021, Gen.
Bipin Rawat, the inaugural
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),
died when his
Mil Mi-17 helicopter carrying him and 13 others, crashed in
Coonoor,
Tamil Nadu. Gen Rawat, who had only been in the post for twenty-three months, had no immediate successor to him, as the position of CDS had no defined
order of succession, which led to it becoming vacant. Amidst growing uncertainty over the impending choice of appointing a successor, the
Union Government appointed Gen.
Manoj Mukund Naravane, the then-
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), as an acting functionary to the position of
Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (Chairman COSC), as an interim successor in an effort to temporarily oversee Gen Rawat's responsibilities, while simultaneously looking for a successor. Gen Naravane, then the senior most chief amongst the
three branches of the armed forces, was himself reported to be a plausible successor; however, his retirement in April 2022 put an end to those speculations. In June 2022, the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a
gazette notification, which stated that any
three-star officer under the age of 62 -
lieutenant general,
vice admiral or
air marshal, whether serving or retired, would be considered qualified candidates eligible to appointed as CDS. The notification subsequently made Gen Chauhan, who had already retired as a lieutenant general at the age of 60, one of the key frontrunners in the pool of qualified candidates. Around the time of the notification's release, Gen Chauhan was one of 14 candidates from the army, comprising both serving and retired commanders, who were eligible for the position. On 28 September 2022, the MoD released an official statement announcing that Gen Chauhan had been selected as the new CDS, which subsequently concluded the position's nine-month vacancy. On 31 May 2025, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, in an interview in
Singapore during the
Shangri-La Dialogue, addressed Pakistan's claims of having shot down Indian aircraft during
Operation Sindoor but dismissed the claim that six jets were downed as absolutely incorrect. Emphasizing operational improvements over losses, he stated: “What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down,” highlighting the identification and rectification of tactical shortcomings, which enabled India to resume effective airstrikes within 48 hours. On 24 September 2025,
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet extended his service tenure as the CDS and
ex-officio Secretary,
Department of Military Affairs up to 30 May 2026 or until further orders, whichever is earlier, from 30 September. ==Personal life==