New Delhi: The Center on Saturday appointed Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as India’s next Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), while Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan was named the next Naval Staff. According to an official announcement, Lieutenant General Raja Subramani, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (Retd), will also function as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, Government of India, from the date of assumption of charge until further orders. The current CDS, General Anil Chauhan, is scheduled to complete his tenure on May 30, 2026. Lieutenant General Raja Subramani is serving as Military Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat with effect from September 1, 2025. Earlier, he served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025. He was also the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command from March 2023 to June 2024. Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, currently the Western Naval Commander in Mumbai, will take over as the next Navy Chief on May 31. His tenure is expected to continue till December 31, 2028. Commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1987, Vice Admiral Swaminathan is an expert in communications and electronic warfare. He is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham, United Kingdom, the College of Naval Warfare at Karanja and the United States Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island.