General Anil Chauhan’s tenure as Chief of Defence Staff extended till May 2026

The tenure of Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has been extended till May 30, 2026.

The Ministry of Defence posted on X: “Government has approved the extension of service of General Anil Chauhan as Chief of Defence Staff and Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, up to May 30, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”

General Chauhan was appointed as CDS on September 30, 2022, for a period of three years. The retirement on post of CDS is at 65 years, and Gen Chauhan turns 65 in May next year.

Commissioned in 1981, Gen Chauhan, is working towards bringing about jointness and integration of three armed forces. He has laid out some 196 targets for merging the efforts of the forces.

Creation of theatre commands — a defined geographical area under a common military commander — is one of the mandates of the CDS.

The post of CDS was created in December 2019 and Gen Bipin Rawat took over as the first incumbent.