Chief of the Army Staff (India)

Chief of the Army Staff of Indian Army
Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff
Incumbent
General Bipin Rawat, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM
since 31 December 2016
Indian Army
Abbreviation COAS
Member of Strategic Policy Group, Chief of Staff Committee (COSC)
Seat Central Secretariat
Appointer Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
Term length 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Precursor Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army
Formation 1 April 1955 (1955-04-01)
First holder General Rajendrasinhji Jadeja
Succession 12th (on the Indian order of precedence)
Deputy Vice Chief of the Army Staff
Salary ₹250,000 (US$3,500) monthly[1][2]

The Chief of the Army Staff is the commander and usually the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army, and usually held by a four-star officer in the rank of General.

The current COAS is General Bipin Rawat, who took office on 31 December 2016 following the retirement of General Dalbir Singh.[3]

Office of the Chief of the Army Staff

The office of the Chief of the Army Staff was created through The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act of the Indian Parliament in 1955. It replaced the erstwhile office of the Commander-in-Chief, Army.[4] The office is based at South Block of the Central Secretariat at Raisina Hill, New Delhi.

Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The COAS reaches superannuation upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Appointees

The rank of Commander-in-Chief, India was established in 1748 to designate the commander of all British and British Indian forces.

The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Army Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of India.[5]

Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1947–1955)

№ NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of CommissionRef
1
Lockhart, RobGeneral
Rob Lockhart KCB, CIE, MC
(1893–1981)
[lower-alpha 1]		15 August 19471 October 19481 year, 47 days51st Sikhs—
2
Bucher, RoyGeneral
Roy Bucher KCB, CB, MC
(1895–1980)
[lower-alpha 1]		1 January 194815 January 19491 year, 14 daysCameronians (Scottish Rifles)—
3
Cariappa, KodanderaField Marshal
K M Cariappa OBE
(1899–1993)		16 January 194914 January 19533 years, 364 daysRajput Regiment—
4
Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral
Rajendrasinhji Jadeja DSO
(1899–1964)		14 January 19531 April 19552 years, 77 days2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)[6]

Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)

№ NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of Commission
1
Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral
Rajendrasinhji Jadeja DSO
(1899–1964)		1 April 195514 May 195543 days2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
2
Shrinagesh, S.General
S. M. Shrinagesh
(1903–1977)		15 May 19557 May 19571 year, 357 days19th Hyderabad Regiment
3
Thimayya, KodenderaGeneral
K S Thimayya Padma Bhushan,DSO, ADC
(1906–1965)		8 May 19577 May 19614 years, 0 days19th Hyderabad Regiment
4
Thapar, PranGeneral
Pran Nath Thapar
(1906–1975)		8 May 196119 November 19621 year, 195 days1st Punjab Regiment
5
Chaudhuri, Jayanto NathGeneral
Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri Padma Vibhushan,OBE
(1908–1983)		20 November 19627 June 19663 years, 199 days7th Light Cavalry
6
Kumaramangalam, Paramasiva PrabhakarGeneral
P P Kumaramangalam Padma Vibhushan,DSO, MBE
(1913–2000)		8 June 19667 June 19692 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
7
Manekshaw, SamField Marshal
Sam Manekshaw Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan,MC
(1914–2008)		8 June 196915 January 19733 years, 221 days12th Frontier Force Regiment
8
Bewoor, Gopal GurunathGeneral
Gopal Gurunath Bewoor PVSM
(1916–1989)		16 January 197331 May 19752 years, 135 days10th Baluch Regiment
9
Raina, Tapishwar NarainGeneral
Tapishwar Narain Raina Padma Bhushan,MVC
(1921–1980)		1 June 197531 May 19782 years, 364 daysKumaon Regiment
10
Malhotra, Om PrakashGeneral
Om Prakash Malhotra PVSM
(1922–2015)		1 June 197831 May 19812 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
11
Rao, K.General
K. V. Krishna Rao PVSM
(1923–2016)		1 June 198131 July 19831 year, 364 daysMahar Regiment
12
Vaidya, Arun ShridharGeneral
Arun Shridhar Vaidya Padma Vibhushan,PVSM, MVC & Bar, AVSM
(1926–1986)		1 August 198331 January 19851 year, 244 days9th Deccan Horse
13
Sundarji, KrishnaswamyGeneral
Krishnaswamy Sundarji PVSM, ADC
(1930–1999)		1 February 198531 May 19883 years, 120 daysMahar Regiment
14
Sharma, Vishwa NathGeneral
Vishwa Nath Sharma PVSM, AVSM, ADC
(born 1930)		1 June 198830 June 19902 years, 29 days16th Light Cavalry
15
Rodrigues, Sunith FrancisGeneral
Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM, VSM
(born 1933)		1 July 199030 June 19932 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
16
Joshi, Bipin ChandraGeneral
Bipin Chandra Joshi PVSM, AVSM, ADC
(1935–1994)		1 July 199319 November 19941 year, 141 days64th Cavalry
17
Roychowdhury, ShankarGeneral
Shankar Roychowdhury PVSM, ADC
(born 1937)		20 November 199430 September 19972 years, 314 days20th Lancers
18
Chowdhury, Shankar RoyGeneral
Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM, ADC
(born 1939)		1 October 199730 September 20002 years, 365 daysSikh Light Infantry
19
Padmanabhan, SundararajanGeneral
Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
(born 1940)		1 October 200031 December 20022 years, 91 daysRegiment of Artillery
20
Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral
Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, ADC
(born 1943)		1 January 200331 January 20052 years, 30 daysDogra Regiment
21
Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral
Joginder Jaswant Singh PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
(born 1945)		1 February 200530 September 20072 years, 241 daysMaratha Light Infantry
22
Kapoor, DeepakGeneral
Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC
(born 1948)		1 October 200731 March 20102 years, 181 daysRegiment of Artillery
23
Singh, Vijay KumarGeneral
Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC
(born 1951)		1 April 201031 May 20122 years, 60 daysRajput Regiment
24
Singh, BikramGeneral
Bikram Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC		1 June 201231 July 20142 years, 60 daysSikh Light Infantry
25
Singh, DalbirGeneral
Dalbir Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
(born 1954)		1 August 201431 December 20162 years, 152 days5 Gorkha Rifles
26
Rawat, BipinGeneral
Bipin Rawat UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC		31 December 2016Incumbent1 year, 290 days11 Gorkha Rifles

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Seconded from the British Army.

References

  1. ↑ "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ Biswas, Shreya, ed. (June 29, 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Lt Gen Bipin Rawat to be the next Army chief - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Chief of the Army Staff". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-06.

Sources

  • Khanduri, Chandra B. (2006). Thimayya: an amazing life. New Delhi: Knowledge World. p. 394. ISBN 978-81-87966-36-4. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
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