The Union Government has appointed Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will also serve as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence on Saturday, the present Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, will complete his tenure on May 30.
Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan has been named the next Chief of the Naval Staff, succeeding Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who will be retiring from service on May 31.
Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has been serving as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat since September 1, 2025. Before that, he served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025, and as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, from March 2023 to June 2024.
The officer is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985.
He is also an alumnus of the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Bracknell, United Kingdom, and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King's College London and an MPhil in Defence Studies from Madras University.
During his career spanning more than four decades, Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has served across different conflict zones and terrain profiles and held several command, staff and instructional appointments.
He commanded 16 Garhwal Rifles during counter-insurgency operations in Assam under Operation Rhino, 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector during a challenging operational environment. He also commanded 2 Corps, the Indian Army's premier strike corps on the Western Front, the statement from the MoD added.
His staff and instructional assignments include Divisional Officer at the National Defence Academy, Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, Defence Attache in Kazakhstan, Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary's Branch, Colonel General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command, Deputy Commander of a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence at Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army), Brigadier General Staff (Operations) in Eastern Command, Chief Instructor (Army) at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Command.
The Ministry of Defence said the officer possesses "insightful knowledge and a deep understanding of operational dynamics on both the Western and Northern Borders."
For his distinguished service, Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
Vice Adm Swaminathan currently heads the Western Naval Command, the Navy’s premier operational command responsible for India’s western maritime front facing Pakistan, including the Arabian Sea and critical sea lanes that carry the bulk of the country’s trade and energy supplies.
His appointment comes at a time when the Indian Navy is steadily 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.
Commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987, Vice Adm Swaminathan has served across a wide spectrum of operational, personnel and training assignments during a career spanning nearly four decades.
He has commanded several frontline naval platforms, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, guided missile destroyer INS Mysore, missile corvette INS Kulish, and missile vessels INS Vidyut and INS Vinash.
Among his key operational appointments was his tenure as Flag Officer Commanding the Western Fleet, often referred to as the Navy’s “Sword Arm”, which serves as the force’s principal combat fleet in the Arabian Sea and spearheads frontline maritime operations on the western seaboard.
On promotion to Rear Admiral, he served as Chief Staff Officer (Training) at Headquarters Southern Naval Command in Kochi, where he oversaw professional training across the Navy. He also played a key role in raising the Indian Naval Safety Team to oversee operational safety standards across ships, submarines and shore establishments.
He later headed the Navy’s Work Up Organisation as Flag Officer Sea Training, responsible for operational evaluation and combat readiness of frontline warships and crews, before taking over command of the Western Fleet.
Subsequently, he served as Flag Officer Offshore Defence Advisory Group and Adviser, Offshore Security and Defence to the Government of India, dealing with offshore and coastal security issues linked to critical energy infrastructure.
After promotion to Vice Admiral, he held senior appointments including Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command, Controller of Personnel Services and Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters. Prior to assuming command of the Western Naval Command in July 2025, he served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, the Admiral attended the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham in the United Kingdom, the College of Naval Warfare at Karanja and the United States Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island.
His academic qualifications include a B.Sc degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, an MSc in Telecommunications from Cochin University of Science and Technology, an MA in Defence Studies from King’s College London, an M.Phil in Strategic Studies from Mumbai University and a PhD in International Studies from Mumbai University.
He is also a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM).