Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat takes charge as Chief of Army Staff

Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2016 took charge as the new Chief of the Army Staff.

Lieutenant General Rawat took over the position from General Dalbir Singh Suhag.

Before being appointed as the Army Chief, Lieutenant General Rawat served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He superseded two senior most Lieutenant Generals - Praveen Bakshi and PM Hariz - as the 27th Army Chief of India.

On the other hand, Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa also took over as the next Air Force Chief replacing Anup Raha.

About Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat

• Lieutenant General Rawat belongs from Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand.

• He attended Cambrian Hall boarding school, Dehradun, St Edward’s School, Shimla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was awarded the Sword of Honour at the Indian Military Academy.

• He graduated from the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Higher Command Course at Fort Leavenworth, USA.

• He obtained an MPhil in Defence Studies from Madras University.

• In 2011, he earned a Doctorate of Philosophy from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, for his research on military-media strategic studies.

• On 16 December 1978, he was commissioned into the 5th Battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles.

• He holds a vast experience in high altitude warfare and 10 years of counter insurgency operations.

• In 2008, he headed the Indian brigade during the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

• He has commanded an infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern sector, a Rashtriya Rifles sector and an Infantry Division in the Kashmir Valley.

• During his 37 years of career, he has been awarded for gallantry and distinguished service with the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, COAS Commendation on two occasions and the Army Commander’s Commendation.