Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (India)

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Director General Armed Forces Medical Services
महानिदेशक सशस्त्र बल चिकित्सा सेवा
Seal of DGAFMS
Flag of Surgeon Vice Admiral
Incumbent
Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin
PVSM AVSM VSM
since 1 October 2024
Armed Forces Medical Services
 Indian Navy
StyleSurgeon Vice Admiral
TypeApex level medical military position
AbbreviationDGAFMS
Reports to
AppointerAppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
Formation1948
First holderLieutenant General K. S. Master, MC
SalaryPay level 17

The Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) is the head of the Armed Forces Medical Services of the Indian Armed Forces. The DGAFMS is the advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Defence Minister on the medical requirements of the Armed Forces.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

In March 1947, an Armed Forces Medical Services and Research Integration Committee was formed by the Government of India. The committee, headed by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, subsequently Chief Minister of West Bengal until 1962, was tasked with examining the integration of medical services and research of the three branches of the Armed Forces. The committee recommended that the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services would have a supreme controller designated Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services in the rank of lieutenant general, vice admiral, or air marshal.[2]

In September 1948, the medical services of the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Army and the Royal Indian Air Force were integrated into the Armed Forces Medical Service (AFMS). The AFMS consists of the Army Medical Corps (AMC), the Army Dental Corps (AD Corps) and the Military Nursing Service (MNS). The Director of Medical Services at Army Headquarters, Lieutenant General K. S. Master, was appointed the first director general Armed Forces Medical Services to head the service.[3] The DGAFMS would be responsible to the Ministry of Defence for overall medical policy matters related to the Armed Forces.[2]

Appointees[edit | edit source]

Key
  • † Died in office
S.No. Name Defence branch Assumed office Left office Notes
1. Lieutenant General Kaikhosru Sorabji Master MC  Indian Army September 1948 1 October 1950 [3]
2. Lieutenant General Daya Ram Thapar CIE, OBE  Indian Army 1 October 1950 11 June 1954 [4][5]
3. Lieutenant General Devendra Nath Chakravarti OBE  Indian Army 12 June 1954 15 October 1955 [5]
4. Lieutenant General Bijeta Chaudhuri OBE  Indian Army 15 October 1955 16 October 1959 [6]
5. Lieutenant General Benegal Mukunda Rao  Indian Army 16 October 1959 1 September 1961 [7]
6. Lieutenant General Shiv Parshad Bhatia OBE  Indian Army 1 September 1961 9 October 1962 [8]
7. Lieutenant General Charu Chandra Kapila OBE  Indian Army 9 October 1962 10 October 1964 [9]
8. Lieutenant General Tirath Ram Pahwa  Indian Army 10 October 1964 25 October 1966 [10]
9. Lieutenant General Amarendra Krishna Dey PVSM, AVSM  Indian Army 26 October 1966 15 December 1967 [11]
10. Lieutenant General Jagdish Ram Vaid FRCS  Indian Army 15 December 1967 27 July 1968 † [12][13]
11. Lieutenant General Bidyapati Bhattacharjya FRCP, FRCPE  Indian Army 31 July 1968 9 July 1969 [14]
12. Lieutenant General Sailendra Nath Chatterjee PVSM, MC  Indian Army 9 July 1969 1 August 1973 [15][16]
13. Lieutenant General Ved Prakash PVSM  Indian Army 2 August 1973 31 December 1974 [15]
14. Air Marshal Ajit Nath PVSM  Indian Air Force 1 January 1975 23 April 1976 [17]
15. Lieutenant General Raghunath Singh Hoon PVSM, AVSM  Indian Army 24 April 1976 1 July 1977 [18][19]
16. Lieutenant General Biradavolu Durga Prasad Rao MBE  Indian Army 1 July 1977 24 April 1978 [19]
17. Lieutenant General Lok Nath Budhraja PVSM, AVSM, MBE  Indian Army 24 April 1978 31 October 1979 [8][20][21]
18. Lieutenant General Devendra Nath Gupta PVSM, AVSM  Indian Army 1 November 1979 31 January 1982 [21][22]
19. Lieutenant General Harnam Singh Seth  Indian Army 1 February 1982 31 July 1982 [22]
20. Lieutenant General Vallury Venkateswara Surya Prataprao PVSM  Indian Army 1 August 1982 31 May 1983 [23]
21. Lieutenant General Ananta Narayanan Ramasubramaniam FRCPE  Indian Army 1 June 1983 1985 [24]
22. Lieutenant General Harish Chandra Puri AVSM, VSM, FRCS, FRCSE  Indian Army October 1985 31 August 1986 [25][26]
23. Lieutenant General Jagdish Narayan PVSM  Indian Army 1 September 1986 31 December 1987 [27]
24. Lieutenant General Krishan Das Kapur  Indian Army 1 January 1988 September 1988 [28]
25. Lieutenant General Jaswant Singh Paul  Indian Army 30 September 1988 February 1990 [29]
26. Lieutenant General Vijay Kishore Tewari  Indian Army 16 February 1990 March 1991 [30]
27. Lieutenant General Nirendra Chandra Sanyal  Indian Army 16 April 1991 December 1994 [31]
28. Surgeon Vice Admiral Inderjit Singh  Indian Navy 18 December 1994 1 September 1996 [32]
29. Lieutenant General Dasarathy Raghunath AVSM  Indian Army 1 September 1996 1 September 1997 [33][34]
30. Lieutenant General Ramanand Jayaswal AVSM  Indian Army 1 September 1997 2000 [34]
31. Lieutenant General Ravinder Kumar Jetley PVSM, VSM  Indian Army 9 October 2000 31 October 2002 [35]
32. Lieutenant General Bijoy Nandan Shahi PVSM, AVSM, VSM  Indian Army 1 November 2002 1 February 2004 [36]
33. Lieutenant General Janak Raj Bhardwaj PVSM, AVSM, VSM  Indian Army 1 February 2004 May 2005 [37][38]
34. Surgeon Vice-Admiral Vijai Kumar Singh  Indian Navy June 2005 1 May 2007 [39]
35. Surgeon Vice-Admiral Yogendra Singh VSM  Indian Navy 1 May 2007 30 May 2009 [40]
36. Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar Parmar PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM  Indian Army 1 June 2009 1 June 2011 [41]
37. Lieutenant General Hira Lal Kakria PVSM, AVSM, VSM  Indian Army 1 June 2011 30 June 2012 [42]
38. Air Marshal Dhananjay Parashuram Joshi  Indian Air Force 1 July 2012 31 October 2014 [43][44]
39. Lieutenant General Bhushan Kumar Chopra AVSM  Indian Army 1 November 2014 30 June 2016 [44]
40. Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Unni AVSM, VSM  Indian Army 1 July 2016 1 November 2017 [45]
41. Lieutenant General Bipin Puri VSM  Indian Army 1 November 2017 1 November 2019 [46]
42. Lieutenant General Anup Banerji SM  Indian Army 1 November 2019 31 December 2020 [47]
43. Surgeon Vice-Admiral Rajat Datta AVSM, SM, VSM  Indian Navy 1 January 2021 14 March 2023 [48]
44. Lieutenant General Daljit Singh AVSM, VSM  Indian Army 15 March 2023 30 September 2024 [49]
45. Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin PVSM, AVSM, VSM  Indian Navy 1 October 2024 Incumbent [50]
Number of DGAFMS by branches of service
Branch Count
 Indian Army 38
 Indian Navy 5
 Indian Air Force 2

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "DIRECTORATE GENERAL ARMED FORCE MEDICAL SERVICES". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "DIRECTORATE GENERAL ARMED FORCE MEDICAL SERVICES | Department Of Defence". www.mod.gov.in.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Defence Services Medical Chief Retires" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 16 September 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "New Director-General of Armed Forces Medical Services: General Thapar's Career" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 October 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Lt-Gen Chakravarti Takes Over As D.G.A.F.M.S." (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 11 June 1954. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "New Director General Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 October 1955. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Maj-Gen B.M. Rao Next Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 July 1959. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Timeless Reflections 1764-2011" (PDF). Indian Army Medical Corps. 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "General Kapila Takes Over As Director-General Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 October 1962. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. ↑ "New Director-General of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 October 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Lt Gen A. K. Dev Takes Over as New DG Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 25 October 1966. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Lt-Gen J R Vaid - New DG AFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 December 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Lt-Gen Vaid Passes Away, Body Cremated With Full Military Honours" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 July 1968. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Lt-Gen B. Bhattacharjya, New Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 July 1968. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Lt Gen Ved Prakash Appointed Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 22 July 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "Gen Chatterjee Takes Over As Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 July 1969. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Air Marshal Ajit Nath". IAF - Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "Lt. Gen. R. S. Hoon Appointed Director General Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 23 April 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Lt Gen Rao is New DG AFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 June 1977. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  20. ↑ "New Armed Forces Dental Clinic Inaugurated" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 24 April 1978. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "General Gupta New DGAFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 October 1979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Lt Gen HS Seth New DG AFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 January 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "New Director General For Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 25 July 1982. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "General Subramanian to Head Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 May 1983. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Lt Gen H.C. Puri New DG AFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 18 October 1985. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "Lt Gen H.C. Puri Retires" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 August 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  27. ↑ "Lt Gen Jagdish Narayan Appointed As Director General Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 September 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "Symposium on Diabetology, Endocrinology and Metabolism Inaugurated" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 26 August 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  29. ↑ "Lt Gen Paul Appointed DG Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 September 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  30. ↑ "Lt Gen VK Tewari Retires" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 March 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "Lt Gen N C Sanyal Is New DG Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 16 April 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  32. ↑ "Surgeon Vice Admiral Inderjit Singh Takes Over As Director General Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 18 December 1994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  33. ↑ "Lt Gen D Raghunath Takes Over As DG AFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 September 1996. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Gen Jayaswal New DG of Armed Forces Medical Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  35. ↑ "Gen Jetley Takes Over as DGAFMS" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 October 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  36. ↑ "LT GEN SHAHI TAKES OVER AS NEW DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  37. ↑ "Lt Gen JR Bhardwaj takes over as DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  38. ↑ Singh, Rahul (3 June 2005). "More legal trouble for the Army". Times of India. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  39. ↑ "Vice Adm Yogendra Singh to Take Charge as DGAFMS". OneIndia.com. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  40. ↑ "Surg. Vice Admiral Yogendra Singh takes over as new DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  41. ↑ "Lt Gen Naresh Kumar assumes the charge of DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  42. ↑ "Lt. General HL Kakria Takes Over as DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  43. ↑ "Air Marshal Joshi appointed DGAFMS". Indian Express. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 "LT Gen BK Chopra Takes Over As DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  45. ↑ "Lt Gen MK Unni Takes over as the new DGAFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  46. ↑ "Lt Gen Bipin Puri, VSM, PHS Director General Armed Forces Medical Service". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  47. ↑ "Lt Gen Anup Banerji takes charge as DG AFMS". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  48. ↑ "Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta takes over as Director General Armed Forces Medical Services". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  49. ↑ "Lt Gen Daljit Singh takes over as military's top doctor". Hindustan Times. 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  50. ↑ "Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin becomes first woman to take over as DG, Armed Forces Medical Services". Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
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