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Deepak Kapoor

General Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, SM is the 23rd and present Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, appointed on September 30 2007.The general has declared that accelerating the modernization of the forces would be among his top priorities.

Biography

Born in 1948, he was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 11 June 1967. He is an Alumnus of Sainik school, Kunjpara. His distinguished career in the Indian Army spans an illustrious four decades, during which he has held varied command and as well as staff appointments. A veteran of the 1971 Indo-Pak War in the eastern theatre (Bangladesh), he is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington and has completed the Higher Command Course at the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi. He served as the Chief Operations Officer for UNOSOM II (United Nations Operation in Somalia II) during 1994-95 and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in January 1996.

General Kapoor was vice-chief of the Army before taking over as the Chief of Army Staff. He has also been the Northern Army Commander in the past.

General Kapoor commanded the 161 Infantry Brigade in Uri, Jammu & Kashmir which was actively involved in operations along the Line of Control. He led from the front and constantly guided his units in maintaining prime operational readiness and was thus awarded the Sena Medal in January 1998 for his devotion to duty. He commanded the 22nd Mountain Division as part of a Strike Corps during Operation Parakram in 2001-02. He was thereafter deeply involved in counter insurgency operations effectively tackling insurgency in Assam, as Chief of Staff of 4 Corps in Tezpur. On promotion to Lieutenant General, he commanded 33 Corps at Siliguri, West Bengal. For his distinguished service as a Corps Commander, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in January 2006. On elevation to the appointment of Army Commander, he commanded the Army Training Command (ARTRAC) in Shimla. Thereafter he moved to spearhead the Northern Command, the largest and most sensitive operational command in the Indian Army, deployed over varied terrain and was once again actively involved in COIN operations. Due to his relentless efforts, he not only brought down the insurgency level and subsequent infiltration, but also won the hearts & minds of the local populace. For his commendable efforts, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in January 2007.

General Kapoor has been appointed as the Honorary Aide-De-Camp to the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the President of India. He is also the senior Colonel Commandant of the Regiment of Artillery. As Vice Chief of Army Staff, he had been instrumental in taking critical decisions at the highest level with far reaching implications. Besides conceptualizing the Indian Army's vision for the future, these issues range from man management of the second largest Army in the world, procurement of weapons & equipment to ensuring a high state of operational preparedness at all times. He is also a keen sportsman and besides being an avid golfer, he has played hockey, basketball and tennis at various levels. He has an abiding interest in self improvement and acquisition of knowledge, in pursuance of which he acquired three Master's Degrees in Political Science, Military Science and Business Administration, the latter which he completed at the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi. He also holds a diploma in Business Management. He is married to Mrs. Kirti Kapoor and they have two children - a daughter and a son, both of whom are married.