New Delhi: In a significant move, the government has appointed two new army commanders, a vice major and a new officer to head the crucial 14 Corps that looks after the tense Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
Lt Gen BS Raju, currently the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, has been appointed as the South Western Army Commander. He will take over from Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Bhinder when he retires on March 1.
Lieutenant General NSR Subramani has been promoted to the rank of Army Commander and appointed as the next Central Army Commander in Lucknow. He is at present the Chief of Staff at HQ Northern Command.
He will succeed Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri. Who is also retiring at the end of this month.
Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar, presently Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) at Army Headquarters, has been promoted to the rank of Army Commander and appointed as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff.
The Leh-based 14 Corps, also known as the Fire and Fury Corps, also saw changes.
Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta, the current Corps Commander, moves to the Northern Command as the new Chief of Staff.
He will be replaced by Lt Gen Rashim Bali, an officer who has also served as India’s Defense Attache in Afghanistan.
Lt Gen BS Raju
The officer is an alumnus of the Sainik School in Bijapur and the National Defense Academy. He was commissioned in the 11th Battalion, Jat Regiment on 15 December 1984.
He commanded his battalion during Operation Parakram, which was launched in the western theater and Jammu and Kashmir after the 2001 Parliament attack.
He also has the distinction of commanding the Uri Brigade along the Line of Control, Counter Insurgency Force and Chinar Corps in the Kashmir Valley. The General Officer was also the Commandant of the Indian Military Training Corps in Bhutan.
In his career spanning 38 years, Lt Gen Raju has held important regimental, staff and instructional appointments at Army Headquarters and field formations, including Brigade Major in an Infantry Brigade, Colonel MS Legal at Army Headquarters, Brigadier of the Active Corps General Staff included. Military operations on the Western Front, and DDG among others.
Prior to taking over as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, he held the appointment of Director General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters.
Incidentally, he is also a qualified helicopter pilot, having flown operational sorties in Somalia as part of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNISOM) II.
He has also done Masters Program in Counter Terrorism at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA.
Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar
He is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy and was commissioned into the 1st Assam Regiment in June 1985. He commanded 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (ASSAM), an Infantry Brigade and an Infantry Division on the Line of Control.
He has also commanded the 16 Corps, also known as the White Knight Corps. He has held the posts of Additional Director General Military Intelligence and Director General Military Intelligence at Army Headquarters.
Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani
He is a graduate of the 67th course at the National Defense Academy and the 77th course at the Indian Military Academy.
The General Officer was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, The Garhwal Rifles on 14 Dec 1985. He is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK) and National Defense College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King’s College London and an M.Phil in Defense Studies from the University of Madras.
He commanded 168 Infantry Brigade in Operation Rhino, Samba, 17 Mountain Division in 2018, 16 Garhwal Rifles in counter insurgency in Assam as part of North India sector in 2020. Army on the Western Front.
His staff and commanding assignments include Division Officer in NDA, Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, Defense Attache in Kazakhstan, Assistant Military Secretary in MS Branch, Colonel General Staff (Operations) in HQ Eastern Command, Deputy Commander of Rashtriya Rifles Sect. Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence at Army HQ, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Eastern Command and Chief Instructor (Army) at DSSC, Wellington.
He is currently the Chief of Staff, HQ Northern Commandant, which makes him well versed with the operational dynamics of the Northern Front.
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