India's Eastern Army Commander and senior-most infantry officer Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Singh, who was on Friday named as the next Indian Army Chief, will take over his new post after incumbent General Deepak Kapoor retires on March 31. The Indian Defence Ministry issued these orders after their Cabinet Committee on Appointments cleared Singh's name for the top post, a private TV news channel reported.

Singh is the third generation officer from the Rajput regiment. A graduate from the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington as well as the Rangers Course at Fort Benning, USA and the US Army War College, Carlisle, was commissioned into the Rajput regiment in June 1970 and commanded the same unit when it was positioned along the LoC.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2010