The Chief of the Army Staff is the head of the military staff of the Indian Army and the chairman of the Indian Army Board. The Chief is usually the highest ranking officer of the Indian army unless the Chief and Vice Chief of Defence are army officers. The position is abbreviated as COAS in Indian Army, and is always held by a four star general. The general is responsible for directing and chairing the army staff of the armed forces serving as the staff’s chief executive. As the most senior officer to serve in the Indian Army, the Chief of the Army Staff is a military adviser to the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Defence. The current COAS is General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who took office on 31 December 2019.
Office of the Chief of the Army Staff
The post of Commander-in-Chief, India was established in 1748 to designate the commander of all forces of East India Company.
After 1857 , the Commander-in-Chief become the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The C-in-C was also the overall head of the armed forces of the British India including the Royal Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Navy. The Commander-in-Chief was also closely in contact with Office of the Viceroy of India.
After partition in 1947 the post of Commander-in-Chief was divided into:- Commander-in-Chief of Indian Army, Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army and Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in India and Pakistan. At Independence, the head of the Indian Army was designated as the “Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army“. On 1 March 1948, the designation changed to “Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army” . The designation was again changed to “Chief of Army Staff” through the Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act ,1955. The office is based at South Block of the Central Secretariat at Raisina Hill, New Delhi.
Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The COAS reaches superannuation upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Appointees
The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Army Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of India.
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1947–1948)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
General Sir Robert Mcgregor Macdonald Lockhart, KCB, CIE, MC (1893–1981) |
15 August 1947 | 31 December 1947 | 108 days | 51st Sikhs |
| 2 |
 |
General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC (1895–1980) |
1 January 1948 | 20 June 1948 | 171 days | 4th Cameronians |
Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army (1948-1955)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of Commission | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
General Sir Francis Robert Roy Bucher, KBE, CB, MC (1895–1980) |
21 June 1948 | 15 January 1949 | 208 days | 4th Cameronians | — |
| 2 |
 |
General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa, OBE (1899–1993) |
15 January 1949 | 14 January 1953 | 3 years, 365 days | 88th Carnatic Infantry | — |
| 3 |
 |
General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO (1899–1964) |
14 January 1953 | 1 April 1955 | 2 years, 77 days | 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) |
Chief of the Army Staff (1955–present)
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO (1899–1964) |
1 April 1955 | 14 May 1955 | 43 days | 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) |
| 2 |
 |
General Satyawant Mallana Srinagesh (1903–1977) |
15 May 1955 | 7 May 1957 | 1 year, 357 days | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
| 3 |
 |
General Kodandera Subayya Thimayya, DSO (1906–1965) |
8 May 1957 | 7 May 1961 | 4 years, 0 days | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
| 4 |
 |
General Pran Nath Thapar (1906–1975) |
8 May 1961 | 19 November 1962 | 1 year, 195 days | 1st Punjab Regiment |
| 5 |
 |
General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, OBE (1908–1983) |
20 November 1962 | 7 June 1966 | 3 years, 199 days | 16th Light Cavalry |
| 6 |
 |
General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam, DSO, MBE (1913–2000) |
8 June 1966 | 7 June 1969 | 2 years, 364 days | Regiment of Artillery |
| 7 |
 |
Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw, MC (1914–2008) |
8 June 1969 | 15 January 1973 | 3 years, 221 days | 12th Frontier Force Regiment |
| 8 |
 |
General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor, PVSM (1916–1989) |
16 January 1973 | 31 May 1975 | 2 years, 135 days | Dogra Regiment |
| 9 |
 |
General Tapishwar Narain Raina, MVC, SM (1921–1980) |
1 June 1975 | 31 May 1978 | 2 years, 364 days | Kumaon Regiment |
| 10 |
 |
General Om Prakash Malhotra, PVSM (1922–2015) |
1 June 1978 | 31 May 1981 | 2 years, 364 days | Regiment of Artillery |
| 11 |
 |
General Kotikalapudi Venkata Krishna Rao, PVSM (1923–2016) |
1 June 1981 | 31 July 1983 | 1 year, 364 days | Mahar Regiment |
| 12 |
 |
General Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya, PVSM, MVC, AVSM (1926–1986) |
1 August 1983 | 31 January 1986 | 2 years, 244 days | 9th Deccan Horse |
| 13 |
 |
General Krishnaswamy Sundarji, PVSM (1928–1999) |
1 February 1986 | 31 May 1988 | 2 years, 120 days | Mahar Regiment |
| 14 |
 |
General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1930) |
1 June 1988 | 30 June 1990 | 2 years, 29 days | 16th Light Cavalry |
| 15 |
 |
General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM (born 1933) |
1 July 1990 | 30 June 1993 | 2 years, 364 days | Regiment of Artillery |
| 16 |
 |
General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (1935–1994) |
1 July 1993 | 19 November 1994 | 1 year, 141 days | 64th Cavalry |
| 17 |
 |
General Shankar Roy Chowdhary, PVSM, ADC (born 1937) |
20 November 1994 | 30 September 1997 | 2 years, 314 days | 20th Lancers |
| 18 |
 |
General Ved Prakash Malik, PVSM, AVSM (born 1939) |
1 October 1997 | 30 September 2000 | 2 years, 365 days | Sikh Light Infantry |
| 19 |
 |
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (born 1940) |
1 October 2000 | 31 December 2002 | 2 years, 91 days | Regiment of Artillery |
| 20 |
 |
General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (born 1943) |
1 January 2003 | 31 January 2005 | 2 years, 30 days | Dogra Regiment |
| 21 |
 |
General Joginder Jaswant Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1945) |
1 February 2005 | 30 September 2007 | 2 years, 241 days | Maratha Light Infantry |
| 22 |
 |
General Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1948) |
1 October 2007 | 31 March 2010 | 2 years, 181 days | Regiment of Artillery |
| 23 |
 |
General Vijay Kumar Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 1951) |
1 April 2010 | 31 May 2012 | 2 years, 60 days | Rajput Regiment |
| 24 |
 |
General Bikram Singh PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1952) |
1 June 2012 | 31 July 2014 | 2 years, 60 days | Sikh Light Infantry |
| 25 |
 |
General Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1954) |
1 August 2014 | 31 December 2016 | 2 years, 152 days | 5 Gorkha Rifles |
| 26 |
 |
General Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1958) |
31 December 2016 | 31 December 2019 | 3 years, 0 days | 11 Gorkha Rifles |
| 27 |
 |
General Manoj Mukund Naravane, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1960) |
31 December 2019 | Incumbent | 1 year, 158 days | Sikh Light Infantry |