Chief of the Army Staff (India)

The Chief of the Army Staff of India is a title held by the chief executive, four star professional head, and the highest ranking commander of the Indian Army. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army, and is always held by a full General. 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.

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
AbbreviationCOAS
Member ofNational Security Council
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatCentral Secretariat
AppointerAppointments Committee of the Cabinet
Term length3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Constituting instrumentArmy Act, 1950 (Act No. 46 of 1950)
PrecursorCommander-in-Chief, Indian Army
Formation21 June 1948 (1948-06-21)
First holderGeneral Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher
Succession12th (on the Indian order of precedence)
DeputyVice Chief of the Army Staff
Salary₹250,000 (US$3,500) monthly[1][2]

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 British Indian Army.The Commander-in-Chief was 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 Army was designated the "Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army." On 21 June 1948, the title of "Chief of the Army Staff" was added.[3] The office of the Chief of the Army Staff was created through The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act of the Indian Parliament in 1955. It replaced the erstwhile office of the Commander-in-Chief, Army.[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)
See also: Commander-in-Chief, India and Chief of the General Staff (India)
No. Portrait NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of Commission
1
Lockhart, RobGeneral
Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart, KCB, CIE, MC
(1893–1981)
[lower-alpha 1]		15 August 194731 December 1947108 days51st Sikhs
2
Bucher, RoyGeneral
Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC
(1895–1980)
[lower-alpha 1]		1 January 194820 June 1948171 daysCameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1948-1955)
See also: Commander-in-Chief, India and Chief of the General Staff (India)
No. Portrait NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of CommissionRef
1
Bucher, RoyGeneral
Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC
(1895–1980)
[lower-alpha 1]		21 June 194815 January 1949208 daysCameronians (Scottish Rifles)—
2
Cariappa, KodanderaField Marshal
Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, OBE
(1899–1993)		16 January 194914 January 19533 years, 364 daysRajput Regiment—
3
Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral
Maharaj Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO
(1899–1964)		14 January 19531 April 19552 years, 77 days2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)[6]

Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)
No. Portrait NameTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnit of Commission
1
Jadeja, RajendrasinhjiGeneral
Maharaja Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO
(1899–1964)		1 April 195514 May 195543 days2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
2
Shrinagesh, S.General
Satyawant Mallana Srinagesh
(1903–1977)		15 May 19557 May 19571 year, 357 days19th Hyderabad Regiment
3
Thimayya, KodenderaGeneral
Kodandera Subayya Thimayya, DSO
(1906–1965)		8 May 19577 May 19614 years, 0 days19th Hyderabad Regiment
4
Thapar, PranGeneral
Pran Nath Thapar
(1906–1975)		8 May 196119 November 19621 year, 195 days1st Punjab Regiment
5
Chaudhuri, Jayanto NathGeneral
Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE
(1908–1983)		20 November 19627 June 19663 years, 199 days7th Light Cavalry
6
Kumaramangalam, Paramasiva PrabhakarGeneral
Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam, DSO, MBE
(1913–2000)		8 June 19667 June 19692 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
7
Manekshaw, SamField Marshal
Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC
(1914–2008)		8 June 196915 January 19733 years, 221 days12th Frontier Force Regiment
8
Bewoor, Gopal GurunathGeneral
Gopal Gurunath Bewoor, PVSM
(1916–1989)		16 January 197331 May 19752 years, 135 daysDogra Regiment
9
Raina, Tapishwar NarainGeneral
Tapishwar Narain Raina, MVC
(1921–1980)		1 June 197531 May 19782 years, 364 daysKumaon Regiment
10
Malhotra, Om PrakashGeneral
Om Prakash Malhotra, PVSM
(1922–2015)		1 June 197831 May 19812 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
11
Rao, K.General
Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao, PVSM
(1923–2016)		1 June 198131 July 19831 year, 364 daysMahar Regiment
12
Vaidya, Arun ShridharGeneral
Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya, PVSM, MVC, AVSM
(1926–1986)		1 August 198331 January 19862 years, 244 days9th Deccan Horse
13
Sundarji, KrishnaswamyGeneral
Krishnaswamy Sundarji, PVSM
(1928–1999)		1 February 198631 May 19882 years, 120 daysMahar Regiment
14
Sharma, Vishwa NathGeneral
Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC
(born 1930)		1 June 198830 June 19902 years, 29 days16th Light Cavalry
15
Rodrigues, Sunith FrancisGeneral
Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM
(born 1933)		1 July 199030 June 19932 years, 364 daysRegiment of Artillery
16
Joshi, Bipin ChandraGeneral
Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC
(1935–1994)		1 July 199319 November 19941 year, 141 days64th Cavalry
17
Roychowdhury, ShankarGeneral
Shankar Roy Chowdhary, PVSM, ADC
(born 1937)		20 November 199430 September 19972 years, 314 days20th Lancers
18
Chowdhury, Shankar RoyGeneral
Ved Prakash Malik, PVSM, AVSM
(born 1939)		1 October 199730 September 20002 years, 365 daysSikh Light Infantry
19
Padmanabhan, SundararajanGeneral
Sundararajan Padmanabhan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
(born 1940)		1 October 200031 December 20022 years, 91 daysRegiment of Artillery
20
Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral
Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM
(born 1943)		1 January 200331 January 20052 years, 30 daysDogra Regiment
21
Vij, Nirmal ChanderGeneral
Joginder Jaswant Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
(born 1945)		1 February 200530 September 20072 years, 241 daysMaratha Light Infantry
22
Kapoor, DeepakGeneral
Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC
(born 1948)		1 October 200731 March 20102 years, 181 daysRegiment of Artillery
23
Singh, Vijay KumarGeneral
Vijay Kumar Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC
(born 1951)		1 April 201031 May 20122 years, 60 daysRajput Regiment
24
Singh, BikramGeneral
Bikram Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC
(born 1952)		1 June 201231 July 20142 years, 60 daysSikh Light Infantry
25
Singh, DalbirGeneral
Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
(born 1954)		1 August 201431 December 20162 years, 152 days5 Gorkha Rifles
26
Rawat, BipinGeneral
Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC
(born 1958)		31 December 201631 December 20193 years, 0 days11 Gorkha Rifles
27
Naravane, Manoj MukundGeneral
Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC
(born 1960)		31 December 2019Incumbent229 days7 Sikh Light Infantry
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See also

Notes
  1. Formerly British Indian Army. Seconded from the British Army.

References
  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.
  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. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. "Chief of the Army Staff". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  6. "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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