Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 31 July 2025.
PARA SF Officer Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh Becomes VCOAS
Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh assumed the appointment of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 31 July 2025. The General Officer was tenanting the appointment of Director General Operational Logistics & Strategic Movement at Army Headquarters. The General Officer was commissioned into 4th Battalion, The Parachute regiment (Special Forces) in December 1987.
He is an alumnus of La’ Martiniere College, Lucknow, Lucknow University and the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The General Officer has served in ‘OP PAWAN’, ‘OP MEGHDOOT’, ‘OP ORCHID’ and has had multiple tenures in ‘OP RAKSHAK’. During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, the General Officer has held various Command and Staff appointments. He commanded a Special Forces Unit in the Kashmir Valley and on the Line of Control.
He later commanded an Infantry Brigade and a Mountain Division in ‘OP SNOW LEOPARD’ along the Line of Actual Control. The General Officer was GOC of a Corps headquartered in Himachal Pradesh and responsible for sensitive Jammu, Samba and Pathankot areas.
The General Officer has insightful knowledge and deep understanding of operational dynamics on both Western and Northern Borders. He has attended the prestigious Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington, Higher Defence Management Course at CDM Secunderabad and Advance Professional Programme in Public Administration at IIPA. For his distinguished service to the Nation, the General Officer has been awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Bar to Sena Medal.
Vice Chief of the Army Staff (India)
The Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces usually held by a three star lieutenant general. As the second highest-ranking officer to serve in the Indian Army, the VCOAS is the deputy professional head of the Indian Army and a senior adviser to the Minister of Defence. The office holder is usually the second most senior army officer unless the Chief of Defence is an army officer. Eleven of the forty Vice Chiefs have gone on to head the Indian Army as the Chief of the Army Staff. The VCOAS is at the Apex Pay grade (Grade 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,200).
