Raj Shukla

Lieutenant General Raj Shukla, YSM, SM is a serving General Officer in the Indian Army. He is the current General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Army Training Command (ARTRAC). He assumed office on 1 May 2020, succeeding Lt Gen P C Thimayya.

Lieutenant General Raj Shukla YSM, SM, ADC
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	1982 – present
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	IC-40685A[1]
Unit	Regiment of Artillery
Commands held	ARTRAC Army War College, Mhow X Corps
Awards	Yudh Seva Medal Sena Medal

Early life and education

Shukla was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in December 1982. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy.[2] He has also attended the Defence Services Staff College, the Higher Defence Management Course at the College of Defence Management and the prestigious National Defence College.[3]

Career

Shukla has commanded a Medium Regiment in the Eastern theatre as part of a Mountain Division. He later took the regiment to the Desert as part of a Strike Corps.[4] He has also commanded an Infantry brigade in Counter-insurgency operations and an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley, along the Line of Control.[5] He is a qualified aviator and has flown along the borders in Sikkim and in the North–East.[4]

In his staff appointments, Shukla has served as the General Staff Officer, Grade I (GSO-I) of an infantry division as well as two tenures in the Military Operations directorate at Army Headquarters.[5]He has also served in instructional appointments in the School of Artillery and the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.[4]

On 5 July 2018, Shukla took command of the X Corps at Bhatinda from Lt Gen P C Thimayya.[6] After an year's stint at the helm of X Corps, he relinquished command on 30 July 2019, handing over to Lt Gen Ajai Singh. He subsequently took over as the Director General Perspective Planning (DGPP) at Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.[7]

On 1 May 2020, Shukla took over as the General Officer Commanding-in Chief Army Training Command from Lt Gen P C Thimayya.[5]

Shukla has been a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses and a visiting fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.[8]

Military Awards and Decorations

He is a recipient of the Yudh Seva Medal and the Sena Medal.[8]

Yudh Seva Medal		Sena Medal
Samanya Seva Medal	Special Service Medal	Operation Vijay Star	Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram Medal	Sainya Seva Medal	High Altitude Service Medal	Videsh Seva Medal
50th Anniversary of Independence Medal	30 Years Long Service Medal	20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	24 December 1982[1]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	24 December 1984
	Captain	Indian Army	24 December 1987[9]
	Major	Indian Army	24 December 1993[10]
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	16 December 2004[11]
	Colonel	Indian Army	1 March 2006[12]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	7 May 2010 (substantive, seniority from 22 January 2009)[13]
	Major General	Indian Army	1 June 2015 (substantive, seniority from 10 June 2012)[14]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	1 September 2017[15]

References

1. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 November 1984. p. 1810.
2. Service, Tribune News. "Lt Gen Shukla assumes charge of ARTRAC". Tribuneindia News Service.
3. Jammu, Greater (1 May 2020). "Lt Gen Raj Shukla, assumes command of the ARTRAC - Greater Jammu || The Daily News Paper". Greater Jammu || The Daily News Paper.
4. "Background". idsa.in.
5. "Press Information Bureau". pibarchive.nic.in.
6. "Lt General PC Thimmaya moves to Mhow war college". tribuneindia.com.
7. Service, Tribune News. "Lt Gen Ajai Singh takes charge of Chetak Corps". Tribuneindia News Service.
8. "Raj Shukla - ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival". https://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/. 17 September 2013. External link in |website= (help)
9. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 26 November 1988. p. 1723.
10. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 14 May 1994. p. 939.
11. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 October 2005. p. 1895.
12. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 April 2007. p. 635.
13. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 February 2013. p. 274.
14. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 May 2016. p. 1310.
15. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 February 2019. p. 393.

Military offices
Preceded by P C Thimayya	General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command 1 May 2020 - Incumbent	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by P C Thimayya	General Officer Commanding X Corps June 2018 - July 2019	Succeeded by Ajai Singh