Lt-Gen Raja Subramani appointed as India's next chief of defence staff
Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan is set to become the new navy chief
Lieutenant-General (retd) NS Raja Subramani has been appointed as India’s next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), while Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan is set to take over as the new Navy chief, reported Indian media on Saturday.
Lt Gen Subramani will also serve as the Secretary to government of India, Department of Military Affairs.
General Anil Chauhan, the present Chief of Defence Staff, will complete his tenure on May 30, 2026.
Subramani is currently serving as the Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat, a position he assumed on September 1 last year. Before this appointment, he served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. He had earlier held the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 to June 2024.
During his career in the Indian Army, Lt-Gen Subramani has been conferred with several prestigious military honours, including the PVSM (Param Vishisht Seva Medal), AVSM (Ati Vishisht Seva Medal), SM (Sena Medal), and VSM (Vishisht Seva Medal).
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Swaminathan is presently the Western Naval Commander in Mumbai and will take charge on May 31 and his tenure will be up to December 31, 2028.
He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July 1987 and is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla; the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, United Kingdom; the College of Naval Warfare, Karanja; and the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, USA.