Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, who Pakistan contacted for ceasefire, appointed Deputy Chief of Army Staff
Lt. Gen Ghai will continue to serve in his current role as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), the Ministry of Defence announced on Monday, June 9.
The DGMOs are senior officials of Indian Army, usually of the rank of Lieutenant General, responsible for overseeing all military operations in India and along its borders.
Meanwhile, Lt. General Ghai's new role — Deputy Chief (Strategy) — is a relatively new but a critical position within the Indian Army, created to oversee key branches such as the Operations and Intelligence Directorates. It is regarded as one of the most significant appointments in the Army's strategic command structure, reported PTI.
Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai took charge as the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) on October 25 last year. A senior officer from the Kumaon Regiment, Lt. Gen Ghai has held several key operational commands throughout his career.
Before his current role, Lt Gen Ghai served as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Chinar Corps, where he led critical counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir. His leadership in high-pressure environments has earned him wide recognition.
On June 4, Lt Gen Ghai was also awarded the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) during the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2025 (Phase-II), recognising his distinguished service.
In a press briefing on May 12, a couple of days after the cessation of hostilities was announced with Pakistan following Operation Sindoor, Lt Gen Ghai underlined the preparedness and coordinated response of the Indian armed forces.
The operation involved precision strikes against terrorist targets without crossing the Line of Control or the International Boundary. Interestingly, the now Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) had used a cricket analogy, "Ashes to Ashes", to describe how India employed its multi-layered air defence systems to neutralise incoming aerial threats from Pakistan.
Earlier this year, Lt Gen Ghai had also visited Manipur around February 25 to assess the security situation in the state, especially along the Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB). During his visit, he held meetings with key state officials, including the Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the State Security Advisor, the Chief Secretary, and the Director General of Police. The visit to the conflict-marred region aimed to review the operational preparedness of the Indian Army and assess the status of ongoing border infrastructure projects.
Lt Gen Ghai had then, during his Manipur visit, stressed the importance of a "whole-of-government approach" to manage security challenges in the region. Discussions focused on normalising the prevailing situation, enhancing border management, and strengthening security infrastructure along the IMB, according to a prior statement from the Ministry of Defence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
26 minutes ago
- India Today
Why should public pay? MP demands MPs bear cost of disrupted Parliament session
On the final day of the Monsoon Session, Independent MP from Daman and Diu, Umesh Patel, staged an unusual protest inside Parliament. Holding a banner that read, 'Ruling and opposition parties must apologise,' Patel demanded accountability for what he called a 'washed-out' session. He argued that the enormous cost of running Parliament, squandered amid repeated disruptions, should be recovered from the Members of Parliament the House does not function, ruling and opposition parties must apologise to 144 crore people for wasting the nation's money,' Patel's placard read. The Monsoon Session of Parliament, held from July 21 to August 21, was marred by repeated adjournments and uproar—first over Operation Sindoor, and later the Bihar voter list the washout 'sad and unfortunate,' Patel accused both the ruling party and the opposition of letting down people's expectations.'The ruling party and the opposition did whatever they wanted and they stabbed hopes and expectations of 144 crore people in this temple of democracy. There were so many important bills some passed with little to no debate. Income Tax bill was 600 pages but there wasn't even a 6-minute discussion on it. You saw yesterday and today how the session was over in 30 seconds Neither of them were in mood for the session,' he appealed for the cost of the disrupted parliamentary proceedings to be deducted from Members of Parliament's salaries.'I request the government that the MPs should not get salary for the Monsoon Session and the expense of running Parliament should be taken out of MPs' pockets. When the House did not function, why should innocent people bear the cost?' he SESSION OF PARLIAMENTDespite the logjam, the Lok Sabha passed 12 bills and the Rajya Sabha cleared 15, including legislation to regulate online gaming and overhaul sports two Houses saw heated exchanges between the ruling party leaders and the members of the Opposition on Operation Sindoor. Tempers flared further when the government introduced three contentious bills providing for the removal of the Prime Minister, chief ministers and ministers if they are under arrest for 30 days on serious charges. Opposition MPs tore copies of the draft law in the House, alleging that the bills strike at the roots of federalism and constitutional principles.- Ends
News18
41 minutes ago
- News18
Nation's Money, Nation's Time: MP Says Politicians Should Pay For Wasted Parliament Session
Last Updated: Umesh Patel, Independent MP from Daman and Diu, protested Parliament's Monsoon Session disruptions, demanding accountability and salary deductions for MPs over wasted public money. Umesh Patel, Independent MP from Daman and Diu, protested on Thursday, the last day of the Parliament's Monsoon Session, over frequent disruptions and low productivity of the House. Holding a banner that read, 'Ruling and opposition parties must apologise," Patel demanded accountability for what he called a 'washed-out" session. He further demanded that the enormous cost of running Parliament, which has been 'wasted" amid repeated disruptions, should be recovered from the salaries of the MPs, India Today reported. 'When the House does not function, ruling and opposition parties must apologise to 144 crore people for wasting the nation's money," the banner read. आज हमने संसद के मकर द्वार पर मानसून सत्र की समाप्ति बिना जरूरी चर्चा के होने पर विरोध प्रदर्शन किया।@presidentofindia@narendramodi_pmoindia @narendramodi_pmoindia @hmoindia @om_birla @loksabhaspeaker @rahulgandhi @bjp4india @incindia — Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai (@umeshbpatel78) August 21, 2025 He said that when the House did not function, then why should the public pay for the expenses incurred by it? Patel accused both the ruling party and the opposition of letting down people's expectations. India Today. Monsoon Session Ruckus The Monsoon Session of the Parliament, which concluded on Thursday, saw frequent disruptions that overshadowed legislative business, with the House losing over 84 hours to forced adjournments, the highest in the 18th Lok Sabha. The month-long session that started on July 21 had 21 sittings with 37 hours and 7 minutes of effective business, according to the Lok Sabha secretariat. All through the Monsoon session, the INDIA bloc continued their protests against Bihar SIR, inside and outside Parliament, accusing the ECI of 'vote theft". Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in both the Houses, the session has seen little business due to repeated disruptions and adjournments initially due to opposition demand for discussion on Operation Sindoor and then over demands for a discussion on SIR. Leaders who vocally criticised the exercise were Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, AAP MP Sanjay Singh. The government ruled it out on the grounds that the administrative work of a constitutional body like the Election Commission cannot be discussed in Parliament. The only agenda item that was conducted smoothly was a two-day discussion on Operation Sindoor in both Houses. Meanwhile, 12 bills were passed by the Lok Sabha and 15 by the Rajya Sabha during the month-long Monsoon session. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from More Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Stormy Monsoon session ends: No SIR discussion, low productivity
Sloganeering, displaying placards and planned deadlock are not in accordance with the dignity of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said Thursday as the turbulent Monsoon session came to an end. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die Thursday. In his valedictory address at the conclusion of the fifth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Birla said: 'The public has great expectations that we have serious and meaningful discussions on their problems and issues of wider public interest, on important Bills, in accordance with the decorum of Parliament. It is the responsibility of all of us to cooperate in building healthy traditions in the House. In this dignified House, we should avoid sloganeering and disruption and take forward serious and meaningful discussions.' The Monsoon Session, which commenced on July 21, saw the introduction of 14 Bills and the passing of 12 of them. The first day of the session also saw the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice-President. For large parts of the session, the Opposition held vociferous protests demanding a discussion on the special intensive revision of rolls (SIR) in Bihar. However, the government maintained that the House cannot discuss matters related to the Election Commission, citing a previous ruling by the Chair. A special discussion was held on Operation Sindoor on July 28 and 29. This was the only full fledged-discussion in the House which saw the participation of the Opposition. Another special discussion, on the achievements of India's space programme on August 18, ended abruptly amid Opposition protests. Thursday was no different as Opposition members raised slogans during Birla's address. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present in the House. 'In this session, 419 starred questions were included in the agenda, but due to continuous planned disruptions, only 55 questions could be taken up for oral answer. We had all decided at the beginning of the session that we would have 120 hours of discussion and dialogue. The Business Advisory Committee also agreed to this. But due to continuous deadlock and planned disruptions, we could barely work for 37 hours in this session,' Birla said. 'Agreement and disagreement are a natural process of democracy, but our collective effort should be that the House runs with dignity, decorum and decency. We have to think about what message we are sending to the citizens through the country's highest democratic institution,' he said. Birla later adjourned the House sine die. He had initially adjourned the House till noon, soon after it assembled at 11 am, following protests by the Opposition members over the SIR exercise. In Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the disruptions had brought down the productivity of the House. 'Overall, the House functioned for only 41 hours and 15 minutes. The productivity of this Session stood at a disappointing 38.88 per cent, something that calls for serious introspection. Members had the opportunity to raise 285 Questions, 285 Zero Hour submissions, and 285 Special Mentions. However, only 14 Questions, 7 Zero Hour submissions, and 61 Special Mentions could actually be taken up,' he said. 'While these contributions are of value, they represent only a fraction of what this august House is capable of achieving when it functions to its full potential,' the Deputy Chairman said. The Deputy Chairman informed the House that 15 Government Bills were passed or returned during the session. Sixty-four members participated in the two-day discussion on Operation Sindoor, Harivansh said. 'The House also benefited from a suo motu statement by the Minister of Commerce and Industry on India–US Bilateral Trade, which provided valuable insights into India's expanding economic engagement. In addition, the House was duly apprised of the vacancy in the office of the Hon'ble Vice-President of India,' he said. The Deputy Chairman later adjourned Rajya Sabha sine die.
