The Centre on Saturday appointed Lieutenant-General (retd) N.S. Raja Subramani, an expert on both the Pakistan and China fronts, the next chief of defence staff (CDS).

The government also appointed Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as the new navy chief.

Subramani will replace General Anil Chauhan, who will be completing his tenure as CDS on May 30. He retired as Vice-Chief of Army Staff last year and is currently serving as military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat. In addition to his role as CDS, he will also function as the secretary of the department of military affairs.

Although it is not an operational post, the CDS functions as the principal military adviser to the Prime Minister and the defence minister on matters, including the nuclear command.

During his four-decade career in the army, Subramani served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles.

“He commanded 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu & Kashmir and 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector during a challenging operational environment. He also has the distinction of having commanded 2 Corps, the premier strike Corps of the Indian Army on the Western Front,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

He has insightful knowledge and a deep understanding of operational dynamics on both the western (Pakistan) and northern (China) borders, the ministry said.

A graduate 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. For his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

In June 2022, the Centre had amended rules on the appointment of the CDS, stating that officers with the second-highest rank in the military can be appointed, leaving the door ajar for the three service chiefs to be superseded while filling India’s top military post. The new rules made any serving or retired lieutenant-general, air marshal and vice- admiral aged below 62 eligible to be CDS.

New navy chief

Swaminathan, who earlier served as the navy’s Vice-Chief, will take over from Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who retires on May 31.

Swaminathan, who currently heads the Western Naval Command, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1987. He is a specialist in communication and electronic warfare and has held several key appointments in his career, including the navy’s chief of personnel, controller of personnel services, and chief of staff.

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla; the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, UK; the College of Naval Warfare, Karanja; and the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Swaminathan’s appointment comes at a time the navy is expanding its operational reach across the Indian Ocean Region amid increasing Chinese naval deployments, heightened maritime competition and growing emphasis on integrated surveillance, carrier-led operations and network-centric warfare.