Kerala native Lieutenant General Sarath Chand will take over as Vice-Chief of Army Staff superseding Bipin Rawat who took charge as Army Chief on December 31. Prior to his appointment, he was the commanding in chief of South-Western Command based in Jaipur.

Chand, who hails from Kurumbaloor in Kottarakkara is an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakoottam. He is the second Keralite after Lt Gen Philip Campose to hold the post of Vice-Chief of Army Staff.



As the Vice-Chief he will be commanding the General Staff Branch at the Army Headquarters. His duties include ensuring operational effectiveness of the force by overseeing the functioning of intelligence wing and military and logistics operations.



After finishing his school, Chand joined National Defense Academy, Khadakvasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was commissioned to Garhwal Rifles in 1979. Chand also graduated in higher command course from Defence Service Staff College.



He had served as commander against the LTTE in Sri Lanka, Line of Control in Kashmir and battalion commander in Operation Falcon along the Chinese border and Operation Rhino that targeted infiltrators in Assam.



He has been honoured with Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal in 2006 for commanding Counter Insurgency Force in Kashmir. He was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2014 for distinguished service at army headquarters. He received Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card thrice and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Commendation Card on two occasions.



Chand is the son of Prabhakaran Nair and Saradamma and is married to Bindu Sarath Chand, a native of Punalur. His sons Abhilash Chand is a Major in Engineering Corp and Abhilash Chand, a Naval Lieutenant.