Indian Army regional command
Military unit
The Central Command of the Indian Army is one of the seven operational commands of the army. It is based at Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh .
Central Command was first established in 1942 during World War II and then disbanded in 1946.[ 2]
Southern Command was responsible for most of the training activities for Indian Army until Central Command was formed in April 1942 which took over the responsibility of some of the training areas.[ 3]
Post 1962 Indo-China war [ edit ]
With its HQ at Lucknow the Command was re-established on 1 May 1963 due to the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Lt Gen K Bahadur Singh was the first Army Commander of the new Central Command. Prior to that date Lucknow had been the headquarters of the Eastern Command .[ 4] [ 5]
Humanitarian assistance and flood relief operations [ edit ]
Central Command undertook humanitarian and Flood Relief Operations at various locations during flash floods including Delhi[ 6] and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh).[ 7]
Central Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers eight states of India: Uttar Pradesh , Uttarakhand , Himachal Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh , Chhattisgarh , Bihar , Jharkhand and Odisha .[ 8] 18 Regimental Centres and a large number of logistic and training establishments come under Central Command. The responsibility for the central sector of the Western border with Pakistan also lies with Central Command.[ 9] Almost half of the 62 cantonments in India lie within the Central Command's theatre.[ 10]
In February 2024, reports emerged for the formation of a new Corps under the Central Command for deployment along Line of Actual Control (LAC).[ 11] The XVIII Corps will consist of at least one division (with around 15,000 to 18,000 combat soldiers each) and three independent brigades. This includes 14 RAPID Division, 9 Mountain Brigade, 136 Mountain Brigade and 119 Mountain Brigade. This move will convert HQ Uttar Bharat from a Static Formation into 'Full-fledged Combat Arm'.[ 12] [ 13]
There are two Static Area Formations:– Uttar Bharat Area and Madhya Bharat Area . Central Command earlier used to act as a strategic reserve but now it is looking after Uttarakhand sector of Indo-Tibet and Indo-Nepal border.[ 14] [ 15]
Following is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders:[ 2]
Central Command (1942–1946)[ edit ]
List of GOC-in-C of Central Command (1963–present)[ edit ]
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command
S.No
Name
Assumed office
Left office
Unit of Commission
References
1
Lieutenant General Kanwar Bahadur Singh MBE
May 1963
August 1966
19th Hyderabad Regiment
2
Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon
August 1966
August 1970
Corps of Engineers
3
Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat PVSM , VC
August 1970
Jun 1972
Corps of Engineers
4
Lieutenant General Har Krishen Sibal MVC
June 1972
November 1973
5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)
5
Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh MVC
November 1973
March 1975
16 Light Cavalry
[ 17]
6
Lieutenant General J. S. Nakai PVSM
April 1975
March 1979
Regiment of Artillery
[ 18]
7
Lieutenant General Ram Dharam Dass Hira PVSM , MVC
April 1979
June 1980
11th Gorkha Rifles
8
Lieutenant General Walter Anthony Gustavo Pinto PVSM
July 1980
June 1982
Brigade of the Guards
9
Lieutenant General H. C. Dutta PVSM
July 1982
November 1983
8th Gorkha Rifles
10
Lieutenant General Bhupinder Singh PVSM
December 1983
September 1985
Regiment of Artillery
11
Lieutenant General K. K. Hazari PVSM , AVSM
October 1985
January 1986
Regiment of Artillery
12
Lieutenant General K. B. Mehta PVSM
February 1986
December 1987
Brigade of the Guards
13
Lieutenant General Sami Khan PVSM , SM
January 1988
March 1989
Madras Regiment
14
Lieutenant General Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM , VSM
April 1989
October 1989
Regiment of Artillery
15
Lieutenant General Faridoon Noshir Billimoria PVSM
November 1989
June 1991
5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)
[ 19]
16
Lieutenant General Vijai Singh PVSM
July 1991
February 1992
8th Light Cavalry
17
Lieutenant General Y. N. Sharma PVSM , AVSM , VSM
March 1992
March 1994
The Grenadiers
18
Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Gautama PVSM
April 1994
April 1995
16th Light Cavalry
[ 20]
19
Lieutenant General R. K. Gulati PVSM
April 1995
May 1996
9th Deccan Horse
20
Lieutenant General Chandra Sekhar PVSM , AVSM
June 1996
September 1997
4th Gorkha Rifles
[ 21]
21
Lieutenant General Surjit Singh PVSM , VSM
October 1997
September 2000
Dogra Regiment
[ 22]
22
Lieutenant General P. S. Joshi PVSM , AVSM , VSM
October 2000
September 2001
8th Gorkha Rifles
[ 23]
23
Lieutenant General D. S. Chauhan PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , VSM
October 2001
December 2003
Madras Regiment
[ 24]
24
Lieutenant General Ram Subramanyam PVSM
January 2004
December 2005
Corps of Engineers
[ 25]
25
Lieutenant General O. P. Nandrajog PVSM , AVSM , VSM
January 2006
February 2008
Brigade of the Guards
[ 26]
26
Lieutenant General Harcharanjit Singh Panag PVSM , AVSM
March 2008
December 2008
Sikh Regiment
[ 27]
27
Lieutenant General J. K. Mohanty PVSM , UYSM , SM , VSM
January 2009
February 2010
Dogra Regiment
28
Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia PVSM , AVSM , YSM , VSM
March 2010
February 2012
Regiment of Artillery
[ 28]
29
Lieutenant General Anil Chait PVSM , AVSM , VSM
March 2012
June 2013
Armoured Corps
[ 29]
30
Lieutenant General Rajan Bakhshi PVSM , UYSM
July 2013
November 2015
17th Horse (Poona Horse)
[ 30]
31
Lieutenant General Balwant Singh Negi PVSM , UYSM , YSM , SM , VSM
December 2015
30 September 2018
Assam Regiment
[ 31]
32
Lieutenant General Abhay Krishna PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , SM
1 October 2018
30 September 2019
Rajputana Rifles
[ 32]
33
Lieutenant General Iqroop Singh Ghuman PVSM , AVSM
1 October 2019
31 March 2021
Brigade of The Guards
[ 33]
34
Lieutenant General Yogendra Dimri PVSM , AVSM , VSM
1 April 2021
28 February 2023
Corps of Engineers
[ 34]
35
Lieutenant General N. S. Raja Subramani PVSM , AVSM , SM , VSM
1 March 2023
30 June 2024
Garhwal Rifles
[ 35]
36
Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , YSM
1 July 2024
Incumbent
Punjab Regiment
[ 36]
Operation Surya Hope
^ "Army pays poignant tributes to its martyrs & bravehearts" . The Times of India . 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013 .
^ a b Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
^ Alan Jeffreys; Patrick Rose (1 August 2012). The Indian Army 1939–47 Experience and Development . Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9781409456537 . Retrieved 21 June 2013 .
^ "Central Command Raising Day concludes" . The Times of India . 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013 .
^ Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: India (Central Provinces)-Indology . Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 3372. ISBN 9788177552683 . Retrieved 21 June 2013 .
^ Hindustan Times (14 July 2023). Delhi Flood Situation Grim, Indian Army Steps In To Help Govt | More Rains Predicted In Uttarakhand . Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via YouTube.
^ IndiaTV (20 February 2019). Himachal: One ITBP jawan killed, 5 missing in Kinnaur avalanche, rescue operation underway . Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via YouTube.
^ "Theatre Commands" . India Today. 20 November 2021.
^ "Commands of the Indian Army" . Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013 .
^ Mukund Padmanabhan (11 May 2003). "Central Command's novel initiative" . The Hindu . Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013 .
^ a b "Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC" . The Indian Express . 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024 .
^ Philip, Snehesh Alex (20 February 2024). "Army's Central Command gets 'combatised' to counter China, new corps raised" . ThePrint . Retrieved 20 February 2024 .
^ Staff, MyIndMakers. "Indian Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC" . Indian Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC . Retrieved 20 February 2024 .
^ Bharat Verma; G. M. Hiranandani; B. K. Pandey (2008). Indian Armed Forces . Lancer Publishers. p. 16. ISBN 9780979617423 . Retrieved 21 June 2013 .
^ "Central Command earlier used to act as strategic reserve but now it is looking after uttrakhand sector of Chinese border. 14 Division is tasked for the role" . Twitter . Retrieved 8 June 2022 .
^ "New Corps at Bareilly: How Indian Army plans to get war ready against China" . The Economic Times . 21 February 2024. ISSN 0013-0389 . Retrieved 30 March 2025 .
^ "Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh, MVC: A great military leader" . defenceinfo.com . 11 August 2016.
^ "General Nakai laid to rest with service honours" . The Tribune .
^ "NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED" (PDF) . 29 October 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023 .
^ "Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away" . 28 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022 .
^ "Padmanabhan may be new Army Chief" . The Tribune .
^ "Shortage of officers may continue" . The Tribune .
^ "First IDS chief Lt Gen Joshi dies" . The Times of India . 2 July 2009.
^ "New Army Vice-Chief" . The Hindu . 5 September 2001.[dead link ]
^ "Lt-Gen Subramanyam is new GOC-in-C" . The Times of India . January 2004.
^ "Lt Gen Nandrajog takes over as Central Command GOC-in-C" . Outlook .
^ "Senior Appointments : Army" . pib.nic.in . PIB.
^ "Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia retires after 40 years of service" . 1 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2025 .
^ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL ANIL CHAIT TAKES OVER AS GOC-IN-C, CENTRAL COMMAND" . Indian Army .
^ "Lt Gen Rajan Bakhshi takes over as GOC-in-C, Central Command" . Indian Defence Review . November 2015.
^ "Lt Gen BS Negi appointed Central Command's new GOC-in-C (designate)" . The Times of India . 6 December 2015.
^ "Lt Gen Abhay Krishna takes over as GOC-in-Chief of Central Command" . The Times of India . October 2018.
^ Gurung, Shaurya Karanbir (23 July 2019). "Naravane appointed as new Vice Chief of Indian Army, four army commanders appointed" . The Economic Times . Retrieved 24 July 2019 .
^ "Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri appointed as next Commander-in-chief of Lucknow-based Central Army Command" . ANI News. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021 .
^ "Lt. Gen. Raju shifted, new Vice-Chief named" . The Hindu . 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023 .
^ "Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta appointed as Central Army commander" . The tinesnownews.com. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024 .
Leadership Organisation
Personnel
Ranks and insignia Serving officers Related
Equipment
Operations
Wars
External conflicts
Annexations Insurgencies
Auxiliary forces Other topics