Tarun Kumar Aich
Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich DCOAS (Strat)
Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich PVSM, AVSM -
4th DCOAS (Strategy)
Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy)
Assumed office
14 March 2023
Chief of the Army StaffManoj Pande
Upendra Dwivedi
Preceded byM. V. Suchindra Kumar
General Officer Commanding XXXIII Corps
In office
22 October 2021 – 31 October 2022
Preceded byAjai Kumar Singh
Succeeded byVPS Kaushik
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service14 June 1986 – Present
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit16 Madras Regiment
Commands XXXIII Corps
Service numberIC-43710L[1]
Awards

Lieutenant General Tarun Kumar Aich, PVSM, AVSM is a serving General Officer of the Indian Army. He is the 4th and the current Deputy Chief of the Army Staff.[2][3] He is the first officer from the Madras Regiment to become the Deputy Chief of Army Staff DCOAS (Strategy), assuming office from Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar on 14 Mar 2023.[2] Previously, he was the Director General of Military Intelligence. Prior to that, he was GOC Trishakti Corps (XXXIII Corps).[4] He earlier served as the Director General of National Cadet Corps.[5][6][7][8]

Early Life and Education

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He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla where he graduated with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Army War College, Mhow. He had undergone the Command and General Staff Course (CGSC) at Hamburg, Germany. He is a Postgraduate and holds an M.Phil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the Madras University.

Military Career

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He was commissioned into 16th battalion of the Madras Regiment (Travancore) in June 1986 from the Indian Military Academy.[9] He has commanded his battalion in the Siachen Glacier and in the intense counter terrorism environment of the Valley Sector in Kashmir. He has held the appointment of the Brigade Major of a Brigade in Counter Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) and General Staff Officer-1 in the Military Intelligence Directorate. He has tenanted the appointment of Colonel (General Staff) of an Offensive Formation in the Plains Sector, Colonel General Staff (Planning) of a command headquarters, Deputy Commander of a brigade (new raising) in the Eastern Theatre, Deputy Director General Canteen Services, Brigadier General Staff of the Indian Military Academy, Commandant of the High Altitude Warfare School at Gulmarg. He also commanded the 12 Reorganized Army Plains Infantry Division (RAPID) in the desert sector.

On being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant general, he took over as the 33rd Director General of National Cadet Corps on 1 January 2021.[6][10][11]

On October 22, 2021 he took over as the GOC XXXIII Corps succeeding Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh.[12][13][14][15] On Dec 11, 2021, he set up a 400 litres of oxygen per minute oxygen generation plant, at the base hospital in Bengdubi near Bagdogra in Siliguri[16] On May 16, 2022 Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, the GOC of Trishakti Corps, and Avinash Khare, the VC of Sikkim University signed the MoU for the Eastern Command Tibetology cadre course (ECTCC)[17]. On Sept 20, 2022, he inaugurated The Avalanche Monitoring Radar (TAMR) operational in North Sikkim. It is first of its kind radar in India installed jointly by the Indian Army and Defence Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE) located at an altitude of 15,000 feet.[18] After relinquishing the command of Trishakti Corps, he moved to the Army headquarters and assumed the appointment of Director General Military Intelligence.

On 14 March 2023, he assumed the appointment as the 4th and the current Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy) succeeding Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar.[19]

Awards and decorations

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He has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024[20] and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021.[21] The general officer has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation thrice.[2]

   
     
       
       
Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Special Service Medal Siachen Glacier Medal Operation Vijay Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal
50th Independence Anniversary Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

Dates of rank

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Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
  Second Lieutenant Indian Army 14 June 1986[9]
  Lieutenant Indian Army 14 June 1988[22]
  Captain Indian Army 14 June 1991[23]
  Major Indian Army 14 June 1997[24]
  Lieutenant Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[25]
  Colonel Indian Army 1 May 2007[26]
  Brigadier Indian Army 14 December 2012 (acting)

1 April 2013 (substantive, with seniority from 10 June 2011)[27]

  Major General Indian Army 1 October 2018 (seniority from 1 February 2017)[28]
  Lieutenant General Indian Army 1 January 2021[29]
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References

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  1. ^ "List of Personnel Being Conferred Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards on the Occasion Of Republic Day-2024 / Param Vishisht Seva Medal" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c https://indianarmy.nic.in/leaders/leaders-site-main/deputy-chiefs-of-army-staff-leaders-site-main
  3. ^ "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich appointed as Vice Chief of Army Staff". Hindusthan Samachar. 14 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich takes charge of Trishakti Corps". Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich takes over as DG NCC". The Statesman. 4 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Lt. Gen. Tarun Kumar Aich takes over as Director General, National Cadet Corps". Press Information Bureau. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ "लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल तरुण कुमार ने संभाला एनसीसी के डीजी का पद". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  8. ^ Experts, Arihant (29 June 2021). Yuva Current affairs yearly (Budget 2021-22). Arihant Publications India limited. ISBN 978-93-257-9126-8.
  9. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 29 October 1988. p. 1586.
  10. ^ "Lt. Gen. Tarun Kumar Aich takes over as DG, NCC". The Statesman. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  11. ^ Bureau, Ebangla (5 January 2021). "Lt. Gen. Tarun Kumar Aich is NCC Director General". ebangla.in. Retrieved 15 July 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich took over the command of Trishakti Corps of Eastern Command from Lt Gen AK Singh". Prasar Bharti News. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  13. ^ Indiablooms. "Lieutenant General Tarun Kumar Aich assumes charge as Corps Commander of Trishakti Corps | Indiablooms - First Portal on Digital News Management". Indiablooms.com. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich assumes command of Trishakti Corps". Sikkimexpress. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  15. ^ www.ETGovernment.com. "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich takes charge of Trishakti Corps - ET Government". ETGovernment.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  16. ^ Online, The Telegraph (11 December 2021). "Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich, GOC of Trishakti Corps inaugurates oxygen generation plant in Siliguri". The Telegraph India. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  17. ^ The, Telegraph (16 May 2022). "Indian Army signs MoU with Sikkim University". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Bureau, I. N. (24 September 2022). "India's first avalanche warning radar starts operating in Sikkim". Indianarrative. Retrieved 11 July 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ DESK, WEB. "लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल तरुण कुमार आइच बने चीफ ऑफ आर्मी स्टाफ (स्ट्रेटजी)". panchjanya.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  20. ^ "List of Gallantry Awards Winners 26 January 2024 Republic Day". 25 January 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  21. ^ "President Shri Ram Nath Kovind approves 455 Gallantry & other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". Press Information Bureau. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 October 1989. p. 1551.
  23. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 22 August 1992. p. 1441.
  24. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 1997. p. 1476.
  25. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 6 August 2005. p. 1355.
  26. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2009. p. 1386.
  27. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2015. p. 2137.
  28. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 December 2021. p. 2962.
  29. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 4 February 2023. p. 273.
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