16 Vice Chiefs of Army Staff (India)

Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, ADC is a retired Indian Army general who served as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS). He assumed office on 1 June 2018 following the retirement of Lt Gen Sarath Chand, and retired on 31 August 2019.

Lieutenant General Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, SC, VSM is a former General Officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, having assumed office on 1 October 2009 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj. He also served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. He is one of the most decorated officers of the Indian Army, with a war-time gallantry award and a peace-time gallantry award to his name.

Lieutenant General Philip Campose, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM was the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2014 succeeding General Dalbir Singh. He retired on 31 July 2015 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai.

Lieutenant General Sarath Chand, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM is an Indian politician and former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army. He served as Vice Chief of Army Staff from 13 January 2017 till his retirement on 31 May 2018. He joined Bharatiya Janata Party on 6 April 2019.

General Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC served as the 23rd Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, appointed on 30 September 2007 and Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee appointed on 31 August 2009.

General Om Prakash Malhotra, PVSM, best known as OP Malhotra, was a senior army officer in the Indian Army who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1978 – 1981. Upon retiring from his military service in India, he served in the Indian Foreign Service when he tenured as the Indian Ambassador to Indonesia 1981-1984, and later served as a political administrator in India as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh 1990-1991.

General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 30 September 1997 to 30 September 2000. He was the Army Chief during the Kargil War.

General Manoj Mukund Naravane PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC is a Four Star general of the Indian Army and the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). He took over from General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2019 after the latter completed his term as the COAS. Prior to his appointment as the COAS, the general served as the 40th Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army Training Command.

Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai, PVSM, AVSM, VSM was the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2015 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Philip Campose. He retired on 31 July 2016 and was succeeded by General Bipin Rawat.

General Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC is a four star general of the Indian Army. He is the first and current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India. On 30 December 2019, he was appointed as the first CDS of India and assumed office from 1 January 2020. Prior to taking over as the CDS, he served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as well as 27th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.

General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, PVSM, VSM is a retired Indian army officer who was Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1990 to 1993 and Governor of Punjab from 2004 to 2010.

General Dalbir Singh Suhag, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC is the current Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles and a former Indian Army General. He was the 26th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army, serving from 31 July 2014 to 31 December 2016, and Vice Chief of the Army Staff prior to that.

Lieutenant General Shri Krishna Singh, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM is a retired Indian Army General. He served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 2011 to 2013.

General Krishnaswamy Sundarji, PVSM, was the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1986 to 1988. He was the last former British Indian Army officer to command the Indian Army.

The Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) is the deputy head and second-highest ranking officer of the Indian Army. The VCOAS is a PSO at Army Headquarters in New Delhi. The office is held by a senior officer in the rank of Lieutenant General, of the Commander-in-Chief grade. Ten of the forty Vice Chiefs have gone on to head the Indian Army as the Chief of the Army Staff.

General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM was the 21st Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He held the office from 1 Jan 2003 to 31 Jan 2005.