General (India)


General is a Four Star General Officer rank in the Indian Army. It is the highest active rank in the Indian Army. General ranks above the Three Star rank of Lieutenant General and below the Five Star rank of Field Marshal, which is largely a war-time or ceremonial rank.
A General may be referred to as a Full General or Four Star General to distinguish them from lower General Officer ranks like Lieutenant General and Major General.
The rank is held by the Chief of the Army Staff, the professional head of the Indian Army, and may also be held by the Chief of Defence Staff. Until 1 January 2020, when the post of Chief of the Defence Staff was established, the COAS was the only officer to hold the rank of Full General. Since the creation of the post and the appointment of General Bipin Rawat as the first CDS, there are two serving Full Generals for the first time in Independent India.
The current Generals in the Indian Armed Forces are the CDS General Bipin Rawat and the COAS General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
The equivalent rank in the Indian Navy is Admiral and in the Indian Air Force is Air Chief Marshal.

Insignia

The badges of rank have a Crossed sword and baton over a five-pointed star and Ashoka emblem above.
The Gorget patches of a General are:
Appointments to the office of CDS and COAS are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India.
The term length of the Chief of Defence Staff is three years or until the age of 65 of the holder, whichever is earlier.
The COAS reaches superannuation upon three years in the office or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Order of Precedence

A General ranks at No. 12 on the Indian order of precedence, along with the Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. A General is at Pay level 18, equivalent to Cabinet Secretary of India, with a monthly pay of ₹250,000.

See Also