Raj Shukla

Shukla was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in December 1982. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy.[1] He has also attended the Defence Services Staff College, the Higher Defence Management Course at the College of Defence Management and the prestigious National Defence College.[2]

Shukla has commanded a Medium Regiment in the Eastern theatre as part of a Mountain Division. He later took the regiment to the Desert as part of a Strike Corps.[3] He has also commanded an Infantry brigade in Counter-insurgency operations and an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley, along the Line of Control.[4] He is a qualified aviator and has flown along the borders in Sikkim and in the North–East.[3]

In his staff appointments, Shukla has served as the General Staff Officer, Grade I (GSO-I) of an infantry division as well as two tenures in the Military Operations directorate at Army Headquarters.[4]He has also served in instructional appointments in the School of Artillery and the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.[3]

On 5 July 2018, Shukla took command of the X Corps at Bhatinda from Lt Gen P C Thimayya.[5] After an year's stint at the helm of X Corps, he relinquished command on 30 July 2019, handing over to Lt Gen Ajai Singh. He subsequently took over as the Director General Perspective Planning (DGPP) at Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.[6]

On 1 May 2020, Shukla took over as the General Officer Commanding-in Chief Army Training Command from Lt Gen P C Thimayya.[4]

Shukla has been a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.[7]

He is a recipient of the Yudh Seva Medal and the Sena Medal.[7]