India’s armed forces are organised into commands: 7 in the Army, 3 in the Navy and 7 in the Air Force, plus two tri-service commands (Andaman and Nicobar Command and Strategic Forces Command). Below the Army’s commands sit corps, each with a headquarters and a battle name. This page lists every command and the main Army corps with their headquarters, gives the rank equivalence across the three services, and names the current chiefs, all of which turn up regularly in Prelims and CDS/CAPF papers.
Quick Answer
Army commands (7): Northern (Udhampur), Western (Chandimandir), South Western (Jaipur), Southern (Pune), Central (Lucknow), Eastern (Kolkata), Army Training Command (Shimla). Navy (3): Western (Mumbai), Eastern (Visakhapatnam), Southern (Kochi, training). Air Force (7): Western (New Delhi), South Western (Gandhinagar), Central (Prayagraj), Eastern (Shillong), Southern (Thiruvananthapuram), Training (Bengaluru), Maintenance (Nagpur). Tri-service: Andaman and Nicobar Command (2001) and Strategic Forces Command (2003). Chiefs (Nov 2026): CDS Gen N. S. Raja Subramani; Army Gen Dhiraj Seth; Navy Adm Krishna Swaminathan; Air Force ACM Ashutosh Dixit.
Indian Army Commands
| Command | Headquarters | Area of responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Command | Udhampur (J&K) | Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh; LoC and LAC in the north |
| Western Command | Chandimandir (Haryana) | Punjab, Haryana, parts of J&K and Himachal Pradesh |
| South Western Command | Jaipur (Rajasthan) | Rajasthan and parts of Punjab and Gujarat; newest operational command (2005) |
| Southern Command | Pune (Maharashtra) | Gujarat, Maharashtra and southern India; largest by area |
| Central Command | Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) | Central India and the middle sector of the LAC (Uttarakhand, Himachal) |
| Eastern Command | Kolkata (West Bengal) | Sikkim, the North-East and the eastern sector of the LAC |
| Army Training Command (ARTRAC) | Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) | Doctrine and training |
Each command is headed by a General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Lieutenant General rank.
Major Army Corps and Their Headquarters
| Corps | Battle name | Headquarters | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Corps | Fire and Fury | Leh | Northern |
| 15 Corps | Chinar | Srinagar | Northern |
| 16 Corps | White Knight | Nagrota | Northern |
| 2 Corps (strike) | Kharga | Ambala | Western |
| 9 Corps | Rising Star | Yol | Western |
| 11 Corps | Vajra | Jalandhar | Western |
| 10 Corps | Chetak | Bathinda | South Western |
| 12 Corps | Konark | Jodhpur | Southern |
| 21 Corps (strike) | Sudarshan Chakra | Bhopal | Southern |
| 3 Corps | Spear | Dimapur (Rangapahar) | Eastern |
| 4 Corps | Gajraj | Tezpur | Eastern |
| 33 Corps | Trishakti | Sukna (Siliguri) | Eastern |
| 17 Corps (mountain strike) | Brahmastra | Panagarh | Eastern |
A corps is headed by a General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Lieutenant General rank and usually has two to four divisions.
Indian Navy Commands
| Command | Headquarters | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Western Naval Command | Mumbai | Arabian Sea; sword arm of the Navy |
| Eastern Naval Command | Visakhapatnam | Bay of Bengal; submarine arm |
| Southern Naval Command | Kochi | Training command |
Indian Air Force Commands
| Command | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Western Air Command | New Delhi (Subroto Park) |
| South Western Air Command | Gandhinagar |
| Central Air Command | Prayagraj |
| Eastern Air Command | Shillong |
| Southern Air Command | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Training Command | Bengaluru |
| Maintenance Command | Nagpur |
Tri-Service Commands
- Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC): India’s first and only theatre command, set up in 2001 at Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), rotating among the three services; it guards the approaches to the Malacca Strait.
- Strategic Forces Command (SFC): set up in 2003 to manage India’s nuclear weapons, under the Nuclear Command Authority headed politically by the Prime Minister.
- Agencies under HQ Integrated Defence Staff: the Defence Space Agency, Defence Cyber Agency and Armed Forces Special Operations Division (2019).
Theatre commands: the government plans to reorganise the 17 single-service commands into integrated theatre commands (broadly China-facing, Pakistan-facing and maritime). The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 gave commanders of joint formations disciplinary powers over personnel of all three services. Bringing in theatre commands is a key task of the CDS.
Rank Equivalence: Army, Navy and Air Force
| Army | Navy | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| Field Marshal (5-star) | Admiral of the Fleet | Marshal of the Air Force |
| General | Admiral | Air Chief Marshal |
| Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Air Marshal |
| Major General | Rear Admiral | Air Vice Marshal |
| Brigadier | Commodore | Air Commodore |
| Colonel | Captain | Group Captain |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Wing Commander |
| Major | Lieutenant Commander | Squadron Leader |
| Captain | Lieutenant | Flight Lieutenant |
| Lieutenant | Sub Lieutenant | Flying Officer |
Note the trap: an Army Captain equals a Navy Lieutenant, while a Navy Captain equals an Army Colonel. For the five-star ranks see Field Marshal in India.
Service Chiefs (November 2026)
| Post | Officer | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of Defence Staff | General N. S. Raja Subramani | 31 May 2026 |
| Chief of the Army Staff | General Dhiraj Seth | 1 July 2026 |
| Chief of the Naval Staff | Admiral Krishna Swaminathan | 31 May 2026 |
| Chief of the Air Staff | Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit | 1 November 2026 |
The President is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces (Article 53(2)).
