Indian Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) List 1947 to 2025 – List of Army Chief of India

List of Army Chief of India - The Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) is the head of the Indian Army and the highest-ranking officer currently serving. The CoAS acts as the principal advisor to the Minister of Defence regarding army matters and serves as a key military advisor to the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

The CoAS also holds the rank of a 4-star General and is a member of critical defense and strategic committees such as the Strategic Policy Group, the Defence Planning Committee, the National Security Council, and the Defence Acquisition Council. They report directly to the Prime Minister of India, the Defence Minister, and the Chief of Defence Staff. Below is the list of Army Chiefs of India.

List of Army Chief of India

The first Indian Chief of Army Staff was General Sir Robert Lockhart, who served from 15 August 1947 to 31 December 1947. Here is the complete list of Army Chiefs of India from 1947 to 2025.

S.No.	Name	Tenure	Unit
1	General Sir Robert Lockhart	15 Aug 1947 – 31 Dec 1947	51st Sikhs
2	General Sir Roy Bucher	01 Jan 1948 – 14 Jan 1949	4th Cameronians
3	Field Marshal KM Cariappa	15 Jan 1949 – 14 Jan 1953	88th Carnatic Infantry
4	General KS Rajendra Sinhji	15 Jan 1953 - 14 May 1955	2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
5	General S.M. Srinagesh	15 May 1955 - 7 May 1957	19th Hyderabad Regiment
6	General K.S. Thimayya	8 May 1957 - 7 May 1961	19th Hyderabad Regiment
7	General P.N. Thapar	8 May 1961 - 19 Nov 1962	1st Punjab Regiment
8	General J.N. Choudhuri	20 Nov 1962 - 7 Jun 1966	16th Light Cavalry
9	General P.P. Kumaramangalam	8 Jun 1966 - 7 Jun 1969	Regiment of Artillery
10	General S.H.F.J. Manekshaw	8 Jun 1969 - 14 Jan 1973	12th Frontier Force Regiment
11	General G.G. Bewoor	15 Jan 1973 - 31 May 1975	Dogra Regiment
12	General T.N. Raina	1 Jun 1975 - 31 May 1978	Kumaon Regiment
13	General O.P. Malhotra	1 Jun 1978 - 31 May 1981	Regiment of Artillery
14	General K.V. Krishna Rao	1 Jun 1981 - 31 Jul 1983	Mahar Regiment
15	General A.S. Vaidya	1 Aug 1983 - 31 Jan 1986	9th Deccan Horse
16	General K. Sunderji	1 Feb 1986 - 30 Apr 1988	Mahar Regiment
17	General V.N. Sharma	1 May 1988 - 30 Jun 1990	16th Light Cavalry
18	General S.F. Rodrigues	1 Jul 1990 - 30 Jun 1993	Regiment of Artillery
19	General B.C. Joshi	1 Jul 1993 - 18 Nov 1994	64th Cavalry
20	General S. Roychowdhury	22 Nov 1994 - 30 Sep 1997	20th Lancers
21	General V.P. Malik	1 Oct 1997 - 30 Sep 2000	Sikh Light Infantry
22	General S. Padmanabhan	1 Oct 2000 - 31 Dec 2002	Regiment of Artillery
23	General N.C.Vij	1 Jan 2003 - 31 Jan 2005	Dogra Regiment
24	General J.J. Singh	01 Feb 2005 - 30 Sep 2007	Maratha Light Infantry
25	General Deepak Kapoor	30 Sep 2007 - 30 Mar 2010	Regiment of Artillery
26	General V.K. Singh	31 Mar 2010 - 31 May 2012	Rajput Regiment
27	General Bikram Singh	01 Jun 2012 - 31 Jul 2014	Sikh Light Infantry
28.	General Dalbir Singh Suhag	31 Jul 2014 - 31 Dec 2016	5 Gorkha Rifles
29.	General Bipin Rawat	31 Dec 2016 - 31 Dec 2019	11 Gorkha Rifles
30.	General Manoj Mukund Naravane	31 Dec 2019 - 30 Apr 2022	Sikh Light Infantry
31.	General Manoj Pande	30 Apr 2022 - 2022 Incumbent	Bombay Sappers

For more details on the list of Army Chiefs of India, visit the Indian Army website: https://indianarmy.nic.in/home.

Read: Army Rank List and Insignia of India