Lieutenant General (R) Anil Chauhan became the new CDS of the country, the post was vacant after the death of General Rawat

The Government of India has appointed Lieutenant General (Retd) Anil Chauhan as the next Chief of Defense Staff (CDS). He will also serve as the Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, Government of India. Earlier, General Bipin Rawat was posted in this post, who died in an accident. Bipin Rawat was the first person who was selected for this post.

By issuing a gazette notification in June, the central government had made a major change in the rules of the three services (Army, Air Force and Navy) for the appointment of the next Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) of the country. Let us inform that this post was vacant after the death of the country's first CDS General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.

The Defense Ministry had issued new guidelines expanding the scope of officers eligible for the post of CDS. According to the released notification, now the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force along with other top officers will be eligible for the post of CDS. Another important change was made in the notification issued by the Defense Ministry that recently retired Army Chief and Vice Chief will also be eligible for this post. However, the age limit for this should not exceed 62 years.

The country's first Chief of Defense Staff i.e. CDS General Bipin Rawat was killed in an Air Force helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu in December last year. Since then the post of CDS is vacant and since then the appointment of second CDS of the country is awaited. 13 people including General Bipin Rawat, his wife were killed in this helicopter accident. General Bipin Rawat was appointed the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) after retiring from the post of Army Chief.