Lt Gen Bipin Rawat to be the next Army chief

The government on Saturday night appointed Lt-General Bipin Rawat as the next Army chief, superseding two Lt-Generals senior to him. he present Army chief will retire on to replace General Dalbir Singh Suhag on December 31.

But the government stuck to the seniority principle in appointment of the next IAF chief by announcing that Air Marshal Birendra Singh Dhanoa will replace Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on December 31.

Lt-General Bipin Rawat (infantry), who took over as the Army vice-chief in September 2016, has been appointed the new chief of the 1.3-million force, bypassing Eastern Command chief Lt-Gen Praveen Bakshi (armoured corps) and Southern Army Command chief Lt-Gen P M Hariz (mechanised infantry).

While Lt-Gen Bakshi was commissioned in December 1977, Lt-Gen Hariz was commissioned in June 1978. Lt-Gen Rawat, in turn, was commissioned into the Fifth battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles in December 1978.