NS Raja Subramani

Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd) is a senior Indian Army officer appointed in May 2026 to serve as India’s Chief of Defence Staff, the country’s senior-most uniformed military position. The role also carries responsibility as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Military Affairs, which works on military affairs, jointness among the armed forces, defence procurement and veterans’ issues.

Subramani has held several senior operational, staff, instructional and diplomatic assignments during a military career spanning more than four decades. Before his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff, he served as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat. He was earlier Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 2024 to July 2025 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Command from March 2023 to June 2024.

Commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on 14 December 1985, Subramani is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. His field experience includes service across India’s Western and Northern borders as well as counter-insurgency operations.

His command appointments include 16 Garhwal Rifles during Operation Rhino in Assam, 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector and 2 Corps, a key strike formation on the Western Front. His staff roles have included Chief of Staff at Headquarters Northern Command, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Eastern Command and Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army).

Subramani has also served as Defence Attaché in Kazakhstan and Chief Instructor (Army) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He attended the Joint Services Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom and the National Defence College in New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts from King’s College London and an MPhil in Defence Studies from Madras University. His decorations include the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.