The Commandant of the Defence Services Staff College is the head and overall in-charge of the Defence Services Staff College. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the Indian Army. He is supported by the chief instructors of the Army, Navy and Air wings, Major General in charge of Administration (MG IC Adm) (all two-star rank appointments), Brigadier General Staff (one-star appointment) and a staff officer (SO to Comdt) (an officer of the rank of major).
The Commandant is responsible to the Chiefs of Staff Committee through the Chairman of the Joint Training Committee.
Lieutenant General Manish Erry, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM is the present Commandant of the DSSC. He assumed office on 17 September 2025 from Lieutenant General Virendra Vats.
History The College was established in 1905 in Quetta (now in Pakistan). After the partition of India and Pakistan, the Indian elements of the Staff College, Quetta led by Colonel S D Verma moved to India. Promoted Brigadier and appointed as the First Commandant, Verma chose Wellington as the location of the Staff College in India. In 1948, Major General W D A Lentaigne, CB, CBE, DSO took over as the Commandant, the longest serving Commandant till date.
The appointment was upgraded to the Three-star rank of Lieutenant General in 1981.
List of Commandants This table chronicles a list of Commandants of Defence Services Staff College, Wellignton S.No. Name Assumed office Left office Notes 1 Brigadier S D Verma 1947 1948 Established the Staff College in India 2 Major General W D A Lentaigne, 1948 1955 Longest serving Commandant 3 Major General P S Gyani 1955 1959 Later served as Force Commander UNEF and Force Commander UNYOM. 4 Major General P P Kumaramangalam, 1959 1959 Later served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff and the 6th Chief of the Army Staff 5 Major General Sam Manekshaw, 1959 1962 Later served as the 7th Chief of the Army Staff. India's first Field Marshal. 6 Major General D Som Dutt 1962 1965 Later served as the First Director of MP-IDSA. 7 Major General Har Prasad 1965 1968 Later served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff 8 Major General R K Ranjit Singh 1968 1972 9 Major General S P Malhotra, 1972 1975 Later served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. 10 Major General A M Sethna, AVSM 1975 1978 Later served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff 11 Major General Mohinder Singh 1978 1982 12 Lieutenant General K Balaram, 1982 1984 13 Lieutenant General Mahipat Sinhji, 1984 1986 14 Lieutenant General F. N. Billimoria, 1986 1987 Later served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command 15 Lieutenant General Gurinder Singh, 1987 1989 16 Lieutenant General K S Brar, 1989 1990 Later served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command 17 Lieutenant General Y K Vadehra, 1990 1992 18 Lieutenant General B S Nalwa, 1992 1994 19 Lieutenant General V P Malik, 1994 1995 Later served as the 19th Chief of the Army Staff 20 Lieutenant General Baldev Singh, 1995 1997 21 Lieutenant General A S Rao, 1997 1999 22 Lieutenant General S R R Aiyengar, 1999 2001 Earlier served as Commandant of the National Defence College 23 Lieutenant General P P S Bindra, 2001 2003 24 Lieutenant General T P S Brar, 2003 2006 25 Lieutenant General B J Gupta, 2006 2008 26 Lieutenant General H P S Klair, 2008 2010 27 Lieutenant General B V Nair 2010 2011 28 Lieutenant General Chander Prakash, 2011 2013 29 Lieutenant General S K Gadeock, 2013 2017 29 Lieutenant General Amrik Singh, 2017 2019 30 Lieutenant General Y V K Mohan, 2019 2020 Earlier served as Commandant of the National Defence College 31 Lieutenant General MJS Kahlon, 2020 2022 32 Lieutenant General S Mohan, 2022 2022 33 Lieutenant General Virendra Vats 1 September 2022 17 September 2025 34 Lieutenant General Manish Erry, 18 September 2025 Incumbent
See also Commandant of the National Defence College Commandant of Indian Naval Academy Commandant of the Indian Military Academy
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