New Delhi, August 12, 2026: Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh (AP Singh) called on the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. The formal interaction took place in keeping with established military protocol between the senior-most officer of the Indian Air Force and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The President’s Secretariat confirmed the meeting through an official post on the X handle of Rashtrapati Bhavan (@rashtrapatibhvn). Photographs from the call-on were also shared, showing Air Chief Marshal AP Singh in conversation with President Murmu in a formal setting at the presidential residence.
Such call-on meetings form an important institutional practice. The President of India, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces under the Constitution, receives periodic briefings and formal visits from the service chiefs. These interactions allow the senior leadership of the armed forces to apprise the President of operational readiness, capability development, and other matters of national security significance, while reinforcing the constitutional relationship between the civil authority and the military.
About Air Chief Marshal AP Singh
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh is the 28th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force. He assumed charge on 30 September 2024, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.
Born on 27 October 1964 in New Delhi, he was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 21 December 1984. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (Khadakwasla), the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington), and the National Defence College (New Delhi), he is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience across a wide range of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
During his distinguished career spanning over four decades, he has held several key command, staff, and operational appointments. These include command of a MiG-27 squadron and a frontline air base, leadership of the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team in Moscow, and the role of Project Director (Flight Test) at the National Flight Test Centre, where he was closely associated with the flight testing of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. He has also served as Air Defence Commander at Headquarters South Western Air Command, Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, and Vice Chief of the Air Staff before taking over as Chief of the Air Staff.
Air Chief Marshal Singh is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). Under his leadership, the Indian Air Force has continued to focus on operational preparedness, induction of new platforms, indigenous capability development under Atmanirbhar Bharat, and jointness with the other services.
Institutional Significance
Meetings between the service chiefs and the President are a regular feature of India’s higher defence organisation. Similar call-ons have taken place in the past, including a meeting by Air Chief Marshal AP Singh with President Murmu in September 2025, and joint calls by the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs on earlier occasions, including briefings related to major operational developments.
These interactions underscore the President’s constitutional role as Supreme Commander and provide a formal channel for the military leadership to maintain direct communication with the highest office in the country. They also reflect the continuity of civil-military relations and the professional ethos of the Indian Armed Forces.
No specific details of the discussions held during today’s meeting have been officially disclosed, which is consistent with the nature of such high-level interactions. The call-on reaffirms the Indian Air Force’s commitment to its mandated role of safeguarding India’s airspace and contributing to national security under the overall guidance of the Supreme Commander.
