On May 9, the government announced that Lieutenant General (retired) NS Raja Subramani has been appointed as India's next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). He will be succeeding General Anil Chauhan, whose tenure ends on May 30.
Considered a Pakistan-China expert, Lieutenant General Subramani is a Garhwal Rifles officer. Currently, he is serving as a military adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). Before this, he served as Vice Chief of Army Staff from 2024 to 2025.
However, his appointment seems to draw unnecessary criticism, with defence analysts and experts arguing that the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership is further "bureaucracising" the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the armed forces, and that it is reserving the top military position only for Army officers.
Government 'bureaucracising' CDS position?
The position of the CDS was created in 2019 for synergy between the three forces and to reduce the intervention of bureaucracy. However, some have argued that by appointing retired Army officers, the government is only "bureaucracising" the armed forces.
Critics also raised questions about appointing a retired officer to the CDS post again. Lieutenant General Subramani's predecessor, General Anil Chauhan, had also retired before he was made the CDS. In fact, barring General Bipin Rawat, all other CDS were appointed only after their retirement.
But critics are forgetting that military advisers to NSCS are chosen based on their capabilities and knowledge, and that is unlikely to do anything with the NSA's office. Also, they are forgetting that members of the armed forces retire as per their ranks. Chiefs of armed forces retire at 62 or after three years as chiefs. Similarly, a Lieutenant General retires at 60. General Rawat was appointed as the CDS before he had turned 62.
In 2022, the government issued a notification that allowed serving or retired Lieutenant Generals, Air Marshals, and Vice Admirals, below the age of 62, to be appointed as CDS, with the Centre having the power to extend their tenures to 65. Thanks to this rule, Lieutenant General Subramani would be senior to all three service chiefs. But if a serving chief is selected for the top post, then this possibility reduces a lot.
Dominance of the Indian Army?
Critics have argued that a CDS has always been selected from the Indian Army. They say that the nature of warfare has changed significantly and a lot of impetus is now on drones, and air and naval battles. However, for a country like India, the nature of the battle will continue to depend on losing or gaining ground. One may argue that during Operation Sindoor, this wasn't the case. However, India had limited objectives during Operation Sindoor, which were to destroy terror infrastructures in Pakistan. The same was not the case during the 2020 India-China standoff, though, as Chinese forces had only one objective, which was to gain control of Indian territory.
Secondly, the Indian Army has the biggest manpower when compared to the Air Force or Navy. The Army has around 1.25 million active personnel, while those numbers for the Air Force and Navy stand at 140,000 and 70,000, respectively. Thus, the Indian Army produces a broader pool to select officers for the position of CDS. This is more like a force composition or demographic issue, rather than an institutional preference.
Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani, a China-Pakistan expert
Lieutenant General Subramani is considered a China-Pakistan expert. As per the Defence Ministry, he is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and 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.
In his 40-year career, he served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. He commanded 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu & Kashmir and 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector during a challenging operational environment. He also has the distinction of having commanded 2 Corps, the premier strike Corps of the Indian Army on the Western Front.
For his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
