By : Neha Dhyani
Updated : Jun 1, 2022, 8:22
Post-independence, the Ministry of Defence was formed under a Cabinet minister's charge, and each service had its Commander-in-Chief. Later, in 1955, the Commanders-in-Chief were renamed Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Army Staff [CoAS], and Chief of Air Staff.
The Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] is the highest-ranking official of the Indian Army and is the operational head. A full General always holds this coveted position. The Chief of Army Staff [CoAS], being the most senior officer, is also the military adviser to the Government of India and the Ministry of Defence. The office of the Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] is located in the South Block of the Central Secretariat at Raisina Hill, New Delhi.
The Indian Army took its current form when Field Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief from the last British Commander-in-Chief of India, General Sir Francis Butcher.
The position of the Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] was created through The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act of the Indian Parliament in 1955, thus replacing the erstwhile office of the Commander-in-Chief, Army.
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There have been 3 Commanders-in-Chief and 27 Chief of Army Staff [CoAS]. The list of all of them is as below:
Name | Period Served | Unit of Commission |
General Francis Robert Roy Bucher | 21 June 1948 – 15 January 1949 | Scottish Rifles |
Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa | 16 January 1949 – 14 January 1953 | Rajput Rifles |
General Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja | 14 January 1953 – 1 April 1955 | 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) |
General Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja | 1 April 1955 – 14 May 1955 | 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) |
General Satyawant Mallana Sringesh | 15 May 1955 – 7 May 1957 | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya | 8 May 1957 – 7 May 1961 | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
General Pran Nath Thapar | 8 May 1961 – 19 November 1962 | 1st Punjab Regiment |
General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri | 20 November 1962 – 7 June 1966 | 7th Light Cavalry |
General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam | 8 June 1966 – 7 June 1969 | Regiment of Artillery |
Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw | 8 June 1969 – 15 January 1973 | 12th Frontier Force Regiment |
General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor | 16 January 1973 – 31 May 1975 | Dogra Regiment |
General Tapishwar Narain Raina | 1 June 1975 – 31 May 1978 | Kumaon Regiment |
General Om Prakash Malhotra | 1 June 1978 – 31 May 1981 | Regiment of Artillery |
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao | 1 June 1981 – 31 July 1983 | Mahar Regiment |
General Arun Kumar Shridhar Vaidya | 1 August 1983 – 31 January 1986 | 9th Deccan Horse |
General Krishnaswamy Sundarji | 1 February 1986 – 31 May 1988 | Mahar Regiment |
General Ashwa Nath Sharma | 1 June 1988 – 30 June 1990 | 16th Light Cavalry |
General Sunith Francis Rodrigues | 1 July 1990 – 30 June 1993 | Regiment of Artillery |
General Bipin Chandra Joshi | 1 July 1993 – 19 November 1994 | 64th Cavalry |
General Shankar Roy Chowdhary | 20 November 1994 – 30 September 1997 | 20th Lancers |
General Ved Prakash Malik | 1 October 1997 – 30 September 2000 | Sikh Light Infantry |
General Sundarajan Padmanabhan | 1 October 2000 – 31 December 2002 | Regiment of Artillery |
General Nirmal Chander Vij | 1 January 2003 – 31 January 2005 | Dogra Regiment |
General Joginder Jaswant Singh | 1 February 2005 – 30 September 2007 | Maratha Light Infantry |
General Deepak Kapoor | 1 October 2007 – 31 March 2010 | Regiment of Artillery |
General Vijay Kumar Singh | 1 April 2010 – 31 May 2012 | Rajput Regiment |
General Bikram Singh | 1 June 2012 – 31 July 2014 | Sikh Light Infantry |
General Balbir Singh Suhag | 1 August 2014 – 31 December 2016 | 5 Gorkha Rifles |
General Bipin Rawat | 31 December 2016 – 31 December 2019 | 11 Gorkha Rifles |
General Manoj Mukund Naravane | 31 December 2019 – Present | 7 Sikh Light Infantry |
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The current Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] of India is General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
In India, the term of the Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] is 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
The first Indian Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] was General Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja.
The Chief of Army Staff [CoAS] is the principal adviser to the President of India, who is the supreme commander. He is also the principal adviser to the Minister of Defence on army matters.