Pak-China expert Lt Gen Raja Subramani appointed Chief of Defence Staff

Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has been appointed as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Union government announced on Sunday. He will also serve as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Military Affairs.

Subramani will succeed General Anil Chauhan, whose tenure ends on May 30.

A widely respected expert on Pakistan and China, Lt Gen Subramani is currently serving as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat, a position he has held since September 2025. Before that, he served as Vice Chief of the Army Staff and as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, Subramani was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985. He also studied at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in Bracknell, UK, and the National Defence College in New Delhi. He holds a Master’s degree from King's College London and an MPhil in Defence Studies from the University of Madras.

Over a military career spanning more than four decades, Lt Gen Subramani has held several key operational, command and instructional assignments across diverse terrains and conflict zones. He commanded the 16 Garhwal Rifles during counter-insurgency operations in Assam under Operation Rhino, led the 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and headed the 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector. He also commanded the prestigious 2 Corps, the Indian Army’s premier strike corps on the western front.

His staff and instructional appointments include serving as Defence Attaché in Kazakhstan, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence, Chief Instructor (Army) at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Command. He is regarded as having a deep operational understanding of both India’s western and northern borders.

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