# Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (India)

The Deputy Chiefs of the Army Staff (DCOAS) are Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) of the Indian Army, and are three-star rank appointments held by Lieutenant-Generals. Currently the rank of DCOAS has three divisions:- Capability Development and Sustenance, Information Systems & Coordination and Strategy.

## History

The position of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCOAS) was first established on 27 January 1959 as the second-in-command of the Indian Army after the Chief of Army Staff. It was equivalent to an Army Commander (GOC-in-C). Lt. Gen. M. S. Wadalia became the first DCOAS.
In January 1965, the position of Vice Chief of the Army Staff replaced the DCOAS in the role of second-in-command, with the DCOAS becoming a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) position, replacing the former position of Chief of the General Staff.
The office of DCOAS was eventually bifurcated into :- Planning and Systems and Training and Coordination. The division of Training and Coordination was later renamed to Information Systems and Training.
In April 2021, the rank of Deputy Chief (Planning and Systems) was amended to Deputy Chief (Capability Development and Sustenance) and Deputy Chief (Information Systems and Training) to Deputy Chief (Information Systems and Coordination). A third post and new post of DCOAS Strategy was created.

## Order of Precedence

The DCOAS rank at No. 24 on the Indian order of precedence, along with Vice-Admirals of the Indian Navy and Air Marshals of the Indian Air Force. Since they should not draw equivalent or more salary than the next higher level, the remuneration is capped at ₹2,24,000.

## Current organisation

Currently, there are three DCOAS at Army HQ:
* Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance)
* Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Information Systems and Coordination)
* Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy)

## Appointees
### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (1959-65)

| No. | Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations | References | Notes |
| 1 | Lieutenant General | Mohinder Singh Wadalia | 27 January 1959 | 15 November 1964 | Kumaon Regiment | | | |
| 2 | Lieutenant General | Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam | 16 November 1964 | 15 January 1965 | Regiment of Artillery | DSO, MBE | | |

### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (1965-1993)

| No. | Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations | Notes |
| 3 | Lieutenant General | Moti Sagar | 15 January 1965 | 8 May 1965 | 4th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM | |
| 4 | Lieutenant General | Kunhiraman Palat Candeth | 1 October 1965 | 6 June 1966 | Regiment of Artillery | PVSM | Officiating from 26 May 1965 |
| 5 | Lieutenant General | Jagjit Singh Aurora | 6 June 1966 | 27 April 1967 | 2nd Punjab Regiment | PVSM | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General | Gopal Gurunath Bewoor | 27 April 1967 | 4 July 1969 | 10th Baluch Regiment | PVSM, PB | |
| 7 | Lieutenant General | Reginald Stephen Noronha | 4 July 1969 | 5 September 1973 | Madras Regiment | PVSM, MC | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General | S. L. Menezes | 5 September 1973 | 20 March 1978 | The Grenadiers | PVSM, SC | |
| 9 | Lieutenant General | K. V. Krishna Rao | 20 March 1978 | 25 May 1979 | Mahar Regiment | PVSM | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General | H. C. Dutta | 25 May 1979 | 23 August 1981 | 8th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM | |
| 11 | Lieutenant General | Krishnaswamy Sundarji | 23 August 1981 | 1 January 1983 | Mahar Regiment | PVSM | |
| 12 | Lieutenant General | Hriday Kaul | 16 January 1983 | February 1985 | 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) | PVSM, AVSM | |
| 13 | Lieutenant General | C.N. Somanna | February 1985 | 1 September 1986 | Brigade of the Guards | PVSM | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General | Anand Sarup | 8 September 1986 | 31 March 1987 | 8th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, MVC | |
| 15 | Lieutenant General | Kunwar Mahendra Singh | 5 April 1987 | 30 November 1987 | Garhwal Rifles | PVSM | |
| 16 | Lieutenant General | Lakshman Singh Rawat | 30 November 1987 | 30 November 1988 | 11th Gorkha Rifles | AVSM | |
| 17 | Lieutenant General | R.N. Mahajan | December 1988 | 1 August 1991 | Kumaon Regiment | PVSM, VSM | |
| 18 | Lieutenant General | R. Sharma | 22 August 1991 | September 1993 | 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) | AVSM | |

## Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance)

This officer takes care of all capital procurement. DG Infantry, DG Armoured, ADG Mechanised Infantry, DG Artillery, DG Air Defence and DG Capability Development report come under this office.

### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Planning and Systems)

| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations |
| Lieutenant General | Sushil Kumar Pillai | May 1988 | | Assam Regiment | PVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Prakash Mani Tripathi | 1992 | September 1993 | 63rd Cavalry | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | D.K. Khanna | September 1993 | 31 August 1994 | Kumaon Regiment | |
| Lieutenant General | S.S. Sethi | 1 September 1994 | September 1996 | Regiment of Artillery | AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | N.S. Malik | September 1996 | 28 February 1998 | 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) | PVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Shamsher Singh Mehta | March 1998 | 31 March 2001 | 63rd Cavalry | PVSM, AVSM**, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Arjun Singh Khanna | 1 April 2001 | 31 August 2002 | Regiment of Artillery | PVSM, AVSM, VrC |
| Lieutenant General | Ashok Chaki | 1 September 2002 | 1 January 2004 | 4th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | P.P.S. Bhandari | 1 January 2004 | 31 January 2006 | 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Gurditar Singh | 1 February 2006 | | Armoured Corps | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Zameer Uddin Shah | 1 October 2006 | 31 August 2008 | Regiment of Artillery | PVSM, SM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Manbir Singh Dadwal | August 2008 | | Dogra Regiment | PVSM, AVSM**, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | J.P. Singh | March 2010 | September 2011 | Armoured Corps | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Narendra Singh | September 2011 | 2013 | Maratha Light Infantry | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | C.A. Krishnan | 2014 | 2015 | 4th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Subrata Saha | | 31 March 2017 | Assam Regiment | PVSM, UYSM, YSM, VSM* |
| Lieutenant General | Shravan Kumar Patyal | 31 March 2017 | May 2018 | 4th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, UYSM, SM |
| Lieutenant General | Sudarshan Srikant Hasabnis | June 2018 | December 2020 | Corps of Engineers | PVSM, VSM |

### Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance)

| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations |
| Lieutenant General | Shantanu Dayal | 1 January 2021 | 31 October 2022 | Garhwal Rifles | UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | JB Chaudhari | 1 November 2022 | 31 October 2024 | Brigade of the Guards | PVSM, SM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Rahul R Singh | 1 November 2024 | Incumbent | Regiment of Artillery | VSM |

## Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems and Coordination)

The DG Signals, DG Information Systems and DG Staff Duty report to this office.

### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Training and Coordination)

| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations |
| Lieutenant General | Satish Nambiar | 1993 | 31 August 1994 | Maratha Light Infantry | PVSM, AVSM, VrC |
| Lieutenant General | K.L. D'Souza | 1 September 1994 | | Regiment of Artillery | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | M.R. Sharma | 1998 | 1999 | Dogra Regiment | PVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Surinder Kumar Jetley | February 1999 | May 2000 | Central India Horse | PVSM, AVSM, SM |
| Lieutenant General | R.K. Sawhney | June 2000 | | Jammu and Kashmir Rifles | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | R.S. Kadyan | 2002 | | Rajputana Rifles | PVSM, AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | J.B.S. Yadava | 1 September 2002 | 28 February 2005 | 11th Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM |

### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Information Systems and Training)

| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations |
| Lieutenant General | Mohinder Puri | 28 February 2005 | 30 April 2006 | 3rd Gorkha Rifles | PVSM, UYSM |
| Lieutenant General | Susheel Gupta | 1 May 2006 | | Jammu and Kashmir Rifles | AVSM, YSM |
| Lieutenant General | Samer Pal Singh Dhillon | 2008 | 2009 | Regiment of Artillery | PVSM, AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Virender Singh Tonk | 2010 | | Rajput Regiment | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Ramesh Halagali | February 2012 | January 2013 | Sikh Light Infantry | PVSM, AVSM, SM |
| Lieutenant General | DS Thakur | January 2013 | | Maratha Light Infantry | |
| Lieutenant General | Jai Prakash Nehra | | October 2014 | Madras Regiment | PVSM, AVSM** |
| Lieutenant General | Gurmit Singh | October 2014 | January 2016 | Assam Regiment | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Jagbir Singh Cheema | 1 February 2017 | November 2017 | Sikh Regiment | PVSM, AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | N.P.S. Hira | 14 March 2016 | Jan 2017 | Sikh Light Infantry | PVSM, AVSM,SM |
| Lieutenant General | Ranbir Singh | Dec 2017 | June 2018 | Dogra Regiment | PVSM, AVSM*, YSM, SM |
| Lieutenant General | Iqroop Singh Ghuman | July 2018 | 1 October 2019 | Brigade of the Guards | PVSM, AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | Saranjit Singh | | | Sikh Light Infantry | PVSM, UYSM, YSM |

### Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Information Systems and Coordination)

| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations |
| Lieutenant General | Amardeep Singh Bhinder | 1 September 2020 | 31 March 2021 | 9th Deccan Horse | AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Upendra Dwivedi | 10 April 2021 | 31 January 2022 | Jammu and Kashmir Rifles | AVSM |
| Lieutenant General | C.B. Ponnappa | 16 February 2022 | 31 March 2022 | Mahar Regiment | AVSM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Ravin Khosla | 5 April 2022 | 31 March 2023 | 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM |
| Lieutenant General | Rakesh Kapoor | 09 June 2023 | Incumbent | Armoured Corps | AVSM,VSM |

## Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy)

The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), DG Military Intelligence, DG Operation Logistics and DG Information Warfare report to this office.
| Rank | Name | Appointment date | Left office | Regiment of Commission | Decorations | References |
| Lieutenant General | Paramjit Singh Sangha | February 2021 | 30 June 2021 | Parachute Regiment | UYSM, AVSM, SM | |
| Lieutenant General | Sanjeev Kumar Sharma | 1 July 2021 | 30 June 2022 | Rajputana Rifles | AVSM, YSM | [77] [78] |
| Lieutenant General | M. V. Suchindra Kumar | 1 July 2022 | 28 February 2023 | Assam Regiment | AVSM, YSM**, VSM | |
| Lieutenant General | Tarun Kumar Aich | 15 March 2023 | 31 October 2024 | Madras Regiment | PVSM, AVSM | |
| Lieutenant General | Pratik Sharma | 1 November 2024 | Incumbent | Madras Regiment | AVSM, SM | |