Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju Was Appointed as New Vice Chief of Army Staff
PERSON AND PLACES
The Army’s Director General of Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Baggavalli Somashekar Raju was appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He is taking over the charge on May 1, 2022.
He replaced, Vice Chief, Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande as he was appointed as the next Army Chief.
This is a rare instance where a three-star officer will be first taking over as Vice Chief before serving tenure as an Army Commander.
Lt. Gen. Raju will be taking first as Vice Chief and is expected to proceed as Army Commander later this year.
As a rule in the Army, the Vice Chiefs have for a long time been those who had already served as Army commanders. few such instances are former Army Chief Gen. S. F. Rodrigues. He was Vice Chief of the Army Staff from November 1987 to April 1989 and then took over as Central Army Commander from April 1989 to October 1989 and as Western Army Commander from November 1, 1989, to June 30, 1990. He served as Chief of the Army Staff from 1990 to 1993 and retired on June 30, 1993.
Lt. Gen. BS Raju was commissioned in the JAT Regiment on December 15, 1984, and he is an alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and the National Defence Academy. He commanded his battalion during ‘Operation Parakram’ in the Western theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir. The General officer is a qualified helicopter pilot having carried out operational flying in Somalia, as part of UNOSOM-II. He is also the Colonel of the JAT Regiment.
Important points for the exam:
- Lt. Gen. Baggavalli Somashekar Raju was appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff.
- He is taking over the charge on May 1, 2022.
- He replaced, Vice Chief, Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande as he was appointed as the next Army Chief.
- Lt. Gen. BS Raju was commissioned in the JAT Regiment on December 15, 1984, and he is an alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and the National Defence Academy.
Facts to know:
- Indian Army Day: 15 January.
- Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee: General Manoj Mukund Naravane - also the Chief of the Army Staff.
- Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind.
