India appoints Lt Gen N S Raja Subramani as new Chief of Defence Staff
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The Centre has appointed Lieutenant General N S Raja Subramani (Retd) as India’s next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He will also serve as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Military Affairs. He becomes the third officer to hold the post after General Bipin Rawat and General Anil Chauhan.
General Anil Chauhan, the current CDS, is set to complete his tenure on May 30, 2026.
Lieutenant General Raja Subramani has been serving as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat since September 1, 2025. Prior to that, he served as Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. He was also the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 to June 2024.
Meanwhile, Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan has been appointed as the next Chief of Naval Staff. Currently serving as the Western Naval Commander in Mumbai, he will take over from Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi on May 31.
Vice-Admiral Swaminathan’s tenure will continue until December 31, 2028.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Vice-Admiral Swaminathan joined the Indian Navy in 1987 and specialises in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He has also studied at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Shrivenham, United Kingdom, the College of Naval Warfare in Karanja, and the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.