Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh has been appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), succeeding Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, who took over the role on July 1 last year. Lt Gen Singh will officially assume office on August 1, 2025.
An alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh was commissioned into the elite 4 Para (Special Forces) in December 1987. Over the course of a distinguished military career spanning more than three and a half decades, he has taken part in key operations including Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Operation Meghdoot in Siachen, Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir, and Operation Orchid in the Northeast.
He also brings significant international experience, having served in United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in Lebanon and Sri Lanka. In April 2022, he was appointed as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Rising Star Corps, a strategically important formation headquartered in Yol cantonment in Himachal Pradesh.
The Rising Star Corps, raised in 2005, plays a key role in guarding the western borders and enhancing operational preparedness in the northern sector.
His appointment comes as part of a series of top-level transitions in India’s military leadership. Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, the current Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, has taken over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command. He will be succeeded by Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, who is expected to assume charge as the next Vice Chief of the Naval Staff on the same day, August 1.
