Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd), who is known within the military circles for being both a soldier-scholar and an operational man, has been appointed the new Chief of Defence Staff and Secretary, Department of Military Affairs.
Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani is currently Military Adviser, National Security Council Secretariat w.e.f. September 01, 2025. Prior to that, he was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 01, 2024 to July 31, 2025 and was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command from March 2023 till June 2024.
The General Officer is a Graduate of the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985. 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 M Phil in Defence Studies from Madras University.
In his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani has 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.
The General Officer’s staff and instructional assignments include Divisional Officer at National Defence Academy, Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, Defence Attache in Kazakhstan, Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary’s Branch, Colonel General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command, Deputy Commander of a Rashtriya Rifles Sector in Jammu & Kashmir, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence in the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army), Brigadier General Staff (Operations) in the Eastern Command, Chief Instructor (Army) at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Chief of Staff, Headquarters Northern Command. The General Officer has insightful knowledge and a deep understanding of operational dynamics on both the Western and Northern Borders.
For his distinguished service, the General Officer has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
A Graduate of the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy, Lt Gen Subramani was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985.
He is an alumnus of the Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the 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.
While the names of two Serving chiefs were also in consideration, sources said that it was decided to go for a three-star officer as the CDS, which is a four-star rank.
Interestingly, the first two CDS – Late Gen Bipin Rawat and Gen Anil Chauhan – are both from the Army, and Lt Gen Subramani will become the third.
