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Internal Security May 09, 2026 5 min read Daily brief · #2 of 12

Lt. Gen. N.S. Raja Subramani to take over as CDS; Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan appointed Navy Chief

The Government of India appointed Lieutenant General N.S. Raja Subramani (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Secretary to the Department o...

GS Paper 2 (Governance Polity) and GS Paper 3 (Internal Security)

What Happened

  • The Government of India appointed Lieutenant General N.S. Raja Subramani (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Secretary to the Department of Military Affairs; he is scheduled to assume charge on 30 May 2026, succeeding General Anil Chauhan.
  • Simultaneously, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, currently Western Naval Commander, was appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff; he is scheduled to take office on 31 May 2026 and will serve until 31 December 2028.
  • Lt Gen Subramani was serving as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat at the time of his appointment, a position he had held since September 2025.
  • Lt Gen Subramani earlier served as Vice Chief of the Army Staff (July 2024 to July 2025) and as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command (March 2023 to June 2024).
  • Vice Admiral Swaminathan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1987 and is a specialist in communication and electronic warfare; he served as the second Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya from November 2015.

Static Topic Bridges

Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

The Chief of Defence Staff is India's highest-ranking uniformed military officer and was created by the Union Cabinet in December 2019 following decades of deliberation — most urgently after the Kargil Review Committee (1999) and the Naresh Chandra Task Force (2012) recommended greater inter-service integration. The CDS holds the rank of a four-star General and operates on a principle of primus inter pares (first among equals) vis-à-vis the three Service Chiefs. The CDS also serves as the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), a civil-cum-military entity within the Ministry of Defence.

  • First CDS: General Bipin Rawat (appointed January 2020; died in a helicopter crash, December 2021).
  • Second CDS: General Anil Chauhan (appointed September 2022).
  • Lt Gen Raja Subramani will be India's third CDS.
  • The CDS chairs the Chiefs of Staff Committee as Permanent Chairman and is the principal military adviser to the Defence Minister on inter-service matters.
  • The CDS exercises command over tri-service organisations including the Defence Cyber Agency, the Defence Space Agency, and the Armed Forces Special Operations Division.
  • The CDS serves as Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority.

Connection to this news: The appointment marks the transition to India's third CDS at a time when the process of establishing integrated theatre commands — the centrepiece of the CDS mandate — is ongoing.

Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

The Department of Military Affairs was carved out of the Ministry of Defence in January 2020 as part of the reforms accompanying the creation of the CDS. It is one of five departments within the Ministry of Defence and is the only one headed by a military officer (the CDS). Its mandate includes facilitating jointness in operations, logistics, training, and procurement across the three services, and overseeing the transition to theatre commands.

  • DMA oversees Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), the Territorial Army, and joint procurement excluding capital acquisitions.
  • The DMA participates in the Defence Acquisition Council (chaired by the Defence Minister) and the Defence Planning Committee (chaired by the National Security Adviser).
  • Establishing joint theatre commands — geographically organised commands integrating army, navy, and air force assets — is the most consequential structural reform under the DMA's mandate.

Connection to this news: The incoming CDS will inherit ongoing theatre command negotiations, making his background in Central Command and the National Security Council Secretariat particularly relevant to this role.

The appointment of the three Service Chiefs (Army, Navy, Air Force) and the CDS is a Union executive function under Article 53 of the Constitution, which vests executive power in the President, exercised on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The appointments are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by the Prime Minister.

  • Service chiefs are drawn from the most senior officers of each respective service in the applicable rank pool.
  • The CDS role was created under the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules 1961 by amending it to create the Department of Military Affairs.
  • There is no fixed statutory term for the CDS; the first two incumbents served after superannuation from active service (re-employed in the CDS post).

Connection to this news: Both appointments follow the established ACC process; the simultaneous announcement of CDS and CNS underscores the coordinated succession planning for two critical national security roles.

Indian Navy's Strategic Role

The Indian Navy is responsible for maritime security across the Indo-Pacific, enforcement of India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ — 2.37 million sq km), anti-piracy operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), and the sea-based leg of India's nuclear triad through Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). The Navy has undergone significant platform induction in recent years, including the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (commissioned 2022).

  • INS Vikrant: India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier, commissioned 2 September 2022.
  • INS Vikramaditya: a refurbished Kiev-class carrier; Vice Admiral Swaminathan served as its second Commanding Officer.
  • Arihant-class SSBNs form the sea-based leg of India's nuclear triad.
  • The Western Naval Command, headquartered in Mumbai, is India's premier naval command given its proximity to the Arabian Sea and key sea lanes.

Connection to this news: Vice Admiral Swaminathan's command experience on INS Vikramaditya and his expertise in electronic warfare position him to lead the Navy through an era of carrier-based power projection and increasing electronic and cyber threats at sea.

Key Facts & Data

  • CDS post created: December 2019 (Cabinet approval); first incumbent: January 2020
  • Lt Gen Raja Subramani commissioned into Garhwal Rifles: December 1985
  • Lt Gen Raja Subramani's decorations: PVSM, AVSM, Sena Medal (SM), VSM
  • Vice Admiral Swaminathan commissioned into Indian Navy: 1 July 1987
  • Vice Admiral Swaminathan's CNS tenure: 31 May 2026 to 31 December 2028
  • Vice Admiral Swaminathan commanded INS Vikramaditya from November 2015
  • Previous CDS (General Anil Chauhan) tenure ends: 30 May 2026
  • Department of Military Affairs established: January 2020
  • India's nuclear triad completed: 2018 (INS Arihant's deterrence patrol)
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)
  4. Department of Military Affairs (DMA)
  5. Appointment of Chiefs of Staff — Constitutional and Legal Framework
  6. Indian Navy's Strategic Role
  7. Key Facts & Data
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