Government

Defence

India's defence policy aims at promoting and sustaining durable peace in the sub-continent and equipping the defence forces adequately to safeguard aggression.

The Supreme Command of the armed forces is vested in the President of India. The responsibility for national defence, rests with the Cabinet. The Defence Minister is responsible to Parliament for all matters concerning defence. Administrative and operational control of the armed forces is exercised by the Ministry of Defence and the three services headquarters.

The three services function under their respective Chiefs of Staff. The Chiefs of Staff are;

Chief of Army Staff : General Dalbir Singh
Chief of the Naval Staff : Admiral Sunil Lanba
Chief of the Air Staff : Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha

Recently a committee was formed for the smooth functioning of the three services together called 'Chiefs of Staff Committee'. The senior most Chiefs of Staff among the three services will be the Chairman of the Committee.

List of chiefs of Army Staff | List of Chiefs of Naval Staff | List of Chiefs of Air Staff

Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee
Name	Tenure
Admiral Sushil Kumar	29 December 2001
General S. Padmanabhan SS	30 December 2001- 31 December 2002
Admiral Arun Prakash	31 July 2004- 31 Oct 2006
Admiral Sureesh Mehta	31 Oct 2006- till date

Commanders-in-Chief
Name	Tenure
General Sir Roy Bucher	1 January 1948-14 January 1949
K. M. Cariappa	15 January 1949-14 January 1953
General Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji	15 January 1953-31 March 1955

Chiefs of Army Staff
Name	Tenure
General Maharaj Rajendra Sinhji	1 April 1955-14 May 1955
General S.M.Srinagesh	15 May 1955-7 May 1957
LGeneral K.S. Thimayya	8 May 1957-7 May 1961
General R.N. Thapar	8 May 1961-19 November 1962
General J.N. Choudhuri	20 November 1962-7 June 1966
General P.P. Kumaramangalam	8 June 1966-7 June 1969
General S.H.F.J. Manekshaw	8 June 1969-31 December 1972
Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw	1 January 1973-14 January 1973
General G.G.Bewoor	15 January 1973-31 May 1975
General T.N. Raina	1 June 1975-31 May 1978
General O.P. Malhotra	1 June 1978-31 May 1981
General K.V.Krishna Rao	1 June 1981-31 July 1983
General A.S.Vaidya	1 August 1983-31 January 1986
General K.Sunderji	1 February 1986-30 April 1988
General V.N.Sharma	1 May 1988-30 June 1990
General S.F.Rodrigues	1 July 1990-30 June 1993
General B.C.Joshi	1 July 1993-18 November 1994
General S.Roychowdhury	22 November 1994-30 September 1997
General V.P.Malik	1 October 1997-30 September 2000
General S. Padmanabhan	1 October 2000- 31December 2002.
General N.C.Vij	31 December 2002 - 31 January 2005
General J J Singh	31 January 2005 - September 29, 2007
General Deepak Kapoor	September 30, 2007 - 31 March 2010
Genera Vijay Kumar Singh	31 March 2010 - 31 May 2012
General Bikram Singh	31 May 2012 - 31 July 2014
General Dalbir Singh	31 July 2014 - Till todate

Chiefs of Naval Staff
Name	Tenure
Vice Admiral R.D. Katari	22 April 1958-4 June 1962
Vice Admiral B.S.Soman	5 June 1962-3 March 1966
Admiral A.K.Chatterjee	4 March 1966-27 February 1970
Admiral S.M. Nanda	1 March 1970-28 February 1973
Admiral S.N. Kohli	1 March 1973-28 February 1976/td>
Admiral J.L. Cursetji	1 March 1976-28 February 1979
Admiral R.L. Pereira	1March 1979-28 February 1982
Admiral O.S. Dawson	1March 1982-30 November 1984
Admiral R.H. Tahiliani	1 December1984-30 November 1987
Admiral J.G. Nadkarni	1 December1987-30 November 1990
Admiral Ramdas	1 December1990-30 September 1993
Admiral V.S. Shekhawat	1 October1993-30 September 1996
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat	1 October 1996-30 December 1998
Admiral Sushil Kumar S	30 December 1998 - 29 December 2001
Admiral Madhvendra Singh	29 December 2001- 31 July 2004
Admiral Arun Prakash	31 July 2004- 31 Oct 2006
Admiral Sureesh Mehta	31 Oct 2006- 31 August 2009
Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma	31 August 2009 - 31 August 2012
Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi	31 August 2012 - 26 February 2014
Admiral Robin K Dhowan	17 April 2014 - 31 May 2016
Admiral Sunil Lanba	31 May 2016 - Till Todate

First Ever Marshal of the IAF
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh	25 January 2002-
Chiefs of Air Staff
Name	Tenure
Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst	15 August 1947-21 February 1950
Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lvelaw Chapman	22 February 1950-9 December 1951
Air Marshal Sir Gerald Gibbs	10 December 1951-31 March 1954
Air Marshal S. Mukherjee	1 April 1954-8 November 1960
Air Marshal A.M.Engineer	1 December 1960-31 July 1964
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh	1 August1964-15 July 1969
Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal	16 July 1969-15 January 1973
Air Chief Marshal O.P. Mehra	16 January 1973-31 January 1976
Air Chief Marshal H. Moolgavkar	1 February 1976-31 August 1978
Air Chief Marshal I.H.Latif	1 December 1978-31 August 1981
Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh	1 September 1981-3 September 1984
Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre	4 September 1984-1 July 1985
Air Chief Marshal D.A. La Fontaine	3 July 1985-31 July 1988
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra	1 August 1988-31 July 1991
Air Chief Marshal N.C. Suri	1 August 1991-31 July 1993
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul	1 August 1993-31 December 1995
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen	31 December 1995-31 December 1998
Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis	1 January 1999- 31 December 2001
Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishna Swamy	31 December 2001 - 1 January 2005
Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi	1 January 2005 - 2007
Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major	31 March 2007 - 31 March 2009
Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik	31 March 2009 - 31 July 2011
Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne	31 July 2011 - 31 December 2013
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha	31 December 2013 - Till todate