Chief of the Army Staff (India)

Chief of the Army Staff
	Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff
	Incumbent; General Manoj Mukund Naravane,; PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC; since 31 December 2019
	Indian Army
Abbreviation	COAS
Member of	National Security Council
Reports to	Prime Minister ; Minister of Defence; Chief of Defence Staff
Seat	Central Secretariat
Appointer	ACC
Term length	3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Constituting instrument	Army Act, 1950 (Act No. 46 of 1950)
Precursor	Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army
Formation	21 June 1948
First holder	General Sir Rob Lockhart
Succession	12th (on the Indian order of precedence)
Deputy	Vice Chief of the Army Staff
Salary	₹250,000 (US$3,500) monthly[1][2]

The Chief of the Army Staff is the head and director of the executive of the military staff of the Indian Army. The Chief is usually the highest ranking officer of the Indian army unless the Chief and Vice Chief of Defence are army officers. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army, and is always held by a four star general. The general is responsible for directing and chairing the army staff of the armed forces serving as the staff's chief executive. As the most senior officer to serve in the Indian Army, the Chief of the Army Staff is a military adviser to the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Defence. The current COAS is General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who took office on 31 December 2019.

Office of the Chief of the Army Staff

The post of Commander-in-Chief, India was established in 1748 to designate the commander of all forces of East India Company.

After 1857 , the Commander-in-Chief become the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The C-in-C was also the overall head of the armed forces of the British India including the Royal Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Navy. The Commander-in-Chief was also closely in contact with Office of the Viceroy of India.

After partition in 1947 the post of Commander-in-Chief was divided into:- Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army, Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army and Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in India and Pakistan. At Independence, the head of the Indian Army was designated as the "Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army". On 1 March 1948, the designation changed to "Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army" .[3] The designation was again changed to "Chief of Army Staff" through the Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act ,1955.[4] The office is based at South Block of the Central Secretariat at Raisina Hill, New Delhi.

Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The COAS reaches superannuation upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Appointees

The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Army Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of India.[5]

Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1947–1948)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
1		Lockhart, RobGeneral Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart, KCB, CIE, MC (1893–1981) [lower-alpha 1]	15 August 1947	31 December 1947	108 days	51st Sikhs
2		Bucher, RoyGeneral Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC (1895–1980) [lower-alpha 1]	1 January 1948	20 June 1948	171 days	4th Cameronians

Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1948-1955)

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission	Ref
1	Bucher, RoyGeneral Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC (1895–1980) [lower-alpha 1]	21 June 1948	15 January 1949	208 days	4th Cameronians	—
2	Cariappa, KodanderaGeneral Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, OBE (1899–1993)	15 January 1949	14 January 1953	3 years, 365 days	Rajput Regiment	—
3	Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO (1899–1964)	14 January 1953	1 April 1955	2 years, 77 days	2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)	[6]

Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
1	Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO (1899–1964)	1 April 1955	14 May 1955	43 days	2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
2	Shrinagesh, S.General Satyawant Mallana Srinagesh (1903–1977)	15 May 1955	7 May 1957	1 year, 357 days	19th Hyderabad Regiment
3	Thimayya, KodenderaGeneral Kodandera Subayya Thimayya, DSO (1906–1965)	8 May 1957	7 May 1961	4 years, 0 days	19th Hyderabad Regiment
4	Thapar, PranGeneral Pran Nath Thapar (1906–1975)	8 May 1961	19 November 1962	1 year, 195 days	1st Punjab Regiment
5	Chaudhuri, Jayanto NathGeneral Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE (1908–1983)	20 November 1962	7 June 1966	3 years, 199 days	7th Light Cavalry
6	Kumaramangalam, Paramasiva PrabhakarGeneral Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam, DSO, MBE (1913–2000)	8 June 1966	7 June 1969	2 years, 364 days	Regiment of Artillery
7	Manekshaw, SamField Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC (1914–2008)	8 June 1969	15 January 1973	3 years, 221 days	12th Frontier Force Regiment
8	Bewoor, Gopal GurunathGeneral Gopal Gurunath Bewoor, PVSM (1916–1989)	16 January 1973	31 May 1975	2 years, 135 days	Dogra Regiment
9	Raina, Tapishwar NarainGeneral Tapishwar Narain Raina, MVC (1921–1980)	1 June 1975	31 May 1978	2 years, 364 days	Kumaon Regiment
10	Malhotra, Om PrakashGeneral Om Prakash Malhotra, PVSM (1922–2015)	1 June 1978	31 May 1981	2 years, 364 days	Regiment of Artillery
11	Rao, K.General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao, PVSM (1923–2016)	1 June 1981	31 July 1983	1 year, 364 days	Mahar Regiment
12	Vaidya, Arun ShridharGeneral Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya, PVSM, MVC, AVSM (1926–1986)	1 August 1983	31 January 1986	2 years, 244 days	9th Deccan Horse
13	Sundarji, KrishnaswamyGeneral Krishnaswamy Sundarji, PVSM (1928–1999)	1 February 1986	31 May 1988	2 years, 120 days	Mahar Regiment
14	Sharma, Vishwa NathGeneral Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1930)	1 June 1988	30 June 1990	2 years, 29 days	16th Light Cavalry
15	Rodrigues, Sunith FrancisGeneral Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM (born 1933)	1 July 1990	30 June 1993	2 years, 364 days	Regiment of Artillery
16	Joshi, Bipin ChandraGeneral Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (1935–1994)	1 July 1993	19 November 1994	1 year, 141 days	64th Cavalry
17	Roychowdhury, ShankarGeneral Shankar Roy Chowdhary, PVSM, ADC (born 1937)	20 November 1994	30 September 1997	2 years, 314 days	20th Lancers
18	Chowdhury, Shankar RoyGeneral Ved Prakash Malik, PVSM, AVSM (born 1939)	1 October 1997	30 September 2000	2 years, 365 days	Sikh Light Infantry
19	Padmanabhan, SundararajanGeneral Sundararajan Padmanabhan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (born 1940)	1 October 2000	31 December 2002	2 years, 91 days	Regiment of Artillery
20	Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (born 1943)	1 January 2003	31 January 2005	2 years, 30 days	Dogra Regiment
21	Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral Joginder Jaswant Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1945)	1 February 2005	30 September 2007	2 years, 241 days	Maratha Light Infantry
22	Kapoor, DeepakGeneral Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1948)	1 October 2007	31 March 2010	2 years, 181 days	Regiment of Artillery
23	Singh, Vijay KumarGeneral Vijay Kumar Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 1951)	1 April 2010	31 May 2012	2 years, 60 days	Rajput Regiment
24	Singh, BikramGeneral Bikram Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1952)	1 June 2012	31 July 2014	2 years, 60 days	Sikh Light Infantry
25	Singh, DalbirGeneral Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1954)	1 August 2014	31 December 2016	2 years, 152 days	5 Gorkha Rifles
26	Rawat, BipinGeneral Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1958)	31 December 2016	31 December 2019	3 years, 0 days	11 Gorkha Rifles
27	Naravane, Manoj MukundGeneral Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1960)	31 December 2019	Incumbent	1 year, 40 days	Sikh Light Infantry

Notes

Formerly British Indian Army. Seconded from the British Army.

References

"Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
"Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1948. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
"The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
"Chief of the Army Staff". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources

Khanduri, Chandra B. (2006). Thimayya: an amazing life. New Delhi: Knowledge World. p. 394. ISBN 978-81-87966-36-4. Retrieved 30 July 2010.

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[British_Army-6] Formerly British Indian Army. Seconded from the British Army.

[7_Pay_Commission_Report-1] "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.

[:India_Today_7CPC-2] Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today. Retrieved 24 September 2017.

[3] "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1948. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

[india-cincact3-4] "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.

[ia-coas-5] "Chief of the Army Staff". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Chief of the Army Staff
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1947–1955)	Sir Rob Lockhart Sir Roy Butcher Kodandera M. Cariappa Rajendrasinhji Jadeja
Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)	Rajendrasinhji Jadeja S. M. Shrinagesh Kodandera Subayya Thimayya Pran Nath Thapar Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam Sam Manekshaw Gopal Gurunath Bewoor Tapishwar Narain Raina Om Prakash Malhotra K. V. Krishna Rao Arun Shridhar Vaidya Krishnaswamy Sundarji Vishwa Nath Sharma Sunith Francis Rodrigues Bipin Chandra Joshi Shankar Roychowdhury Ved Prakash Malik Sundararajan Padmanabhan Nirmal Chander Vij Joginder Jaswant Singh Deepak Kapoor Vijay Kumar Singh Bikram Singh Dalbir Singh Bipin Rawat Manoj Mukund Naravane (incumbent)
(**Seconded from the British Army)