# Tarun Kumar Aich

Tarun Kumar Aich, (born 19 October 1964) is a retired General Officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the 4th Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy). He is the first officer from the Madras Regiment to become the Deputy Chief of Army Staff DCOAS (Strategy), assuming office from Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar on 14 March 2023. Previously, he was the Director General of Military Intelligence. Prior to that, he was GOC Trishakti Corps (XXXIII Corps). He earlier served as the Director General of National Cadet Corps.

## Early life and education

He has completed his schooling from The Frank Anthony Public School, Delhi and High school from Delhi Public School, Delhi. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla where he graduated with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Army War College, Mhow. He had undergone the Command and General Staff Course (CGSC) at Hamburg, Germany. He is a Postgraduate and holds an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the Madras University.

## Military career

He was commissioned into 16th battalion of the Madras Regiment (Travancore) in June 1986 from the Indian Military Academy. He has commanded his battalion in the Siachen Glacier and in the intense counter terrorism environment of the Valley Sector in Kashmir. He has held the appointment of the Brigade Major of a Brigade in Counter Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) and General Staff Officer-1 in the Military Intelligence Directorate. He has assumed command as the Colonel (General Staff) of a forward assault formation in the plains sector, served as Colonel General Staff (Planning) at Command Headquarters, and held the esteemed post of Brigadier General Staff at the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Commandant of the High Altitude Warfare School at Gulmarg. He also commanded the 12 Reorganized Army Plains Infantry Division (RAPID) in the desert sector.
On being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant general, he took over as the 33rd Director General of National Cadet Corps on 1 January 2021.
On 22 October 2021, he took over as the GOC XXXIII Corps succeeding Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh. On 11 December 2021, he set up a 400 litres of oxygen per minute oxygen generation plant, at the base hospital in Bengdubi near Bagdogra in Siliguri On 16 May 2022, Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, the GOC of Trishakti Corps, and Avinash Khare, the VC of Sikkim University signed the MoU for the Eastern Command Tibetology cadre course (ECTCC). On 20 September 2022, he inaugurated The Avalanche Monitoring Radar (TAMR) operational in North Sikkim. It is first of its kind radar in India installed jointly by the Indian Army and Defence Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE) located at an altitude of 15,000 feet. After relinquishing the command of Trishakti Corps, he moved to the Army headquarters and assumed the appointment of Director General Military Intelligence.
On 14 March 2023, he assumed the appointment as the 4th and the current Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy) succeeding Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar. He supernatuated on 31 October 2024.

## Awards and decorations

He has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021. The general officer has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation thrice.
| Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Param Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal |
| Special Service Medal | Siachen Glacier Medal | Siachen Glacier Medal | Operation Vijay Medal |
| Sainya Seva Medal | High Altitude Medal | Videsh Seva Medal | 75th Independence Anniversary Medal |
| 50th Independence Anniversary Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal |

## Dates of rank

| Rank | Component | Date of rank |
| Second Lieutenant | Indian Army | 14 June 1986 |
| Lieutenant | Indian Army | 14 June 1988 |
| Captain | Indian Army | 14 June 1991 |
| Major | Indian Army | 14 June 1997 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Indian Army | 16 December 2004 |
| Colonel | Indian Army | 1 May 2007 |
| Brigadier | Indian Army | 14 December 2012 (acting) 1 April 2013 (substantive, with seniority from 10 June 2011) |
| Major General | Indian Army | 1 October 2018 (seniority from 1 February 2017) |
| Lieutenant General | Indian Army | 1 January 2021 |

## Gallery

* The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi presenting the trophy to the winners, at the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Rally, in New Delhi. The DG, NCC, Lieutenant General Tarun Kumar Aich is also seen, January 28, 2021.
* President Kovind presents Ati Vishisht Seva Medal to Lt. General Tarun Kumar Aich, The Infantry. November 23, 2021.