The Indian government said on Wednesday that it had appointed Anil Chauhan as its defence principal, to succeed Bipin Rawat, who failed in a helicopter crash along with 13 others last December.
Chauhan, 61, served as an assistant general before retiring in May 2021, after commanding the Indian army’s eastern division.
He’ll also serve as clerk to the department of military affairs once he takes charge, the government said in a statement.
His appointment comes after months of the enterprise over who would be India’s defence chief, while the situation at the country’s borders with China and Pakistan remains tense.
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Rawat was appointed as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in late 2019.
Rawat, his woman and 12 defence labor force were en route to a military staff council in southern India when the air force copter they were travelling in went down.
