Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai Appointed Military Adviser to NSCS, First Serving Officer in Role
Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai has been appointed as Military Adviser to India's National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), becoming the first serving military officer to hold the position since it was revived in 2018. He succeeds General N.S. Raja Subramani, who recently became Chief of Defence Staff, and still has over 15 months of active service remaining. The appointment is seen as a significant shift toward integrating current operational military expertise directly into India's highest national security decision-making framework.
Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, currently serving as Deputy Chief of the Indian Army (Strategy), was appointed Military Adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) earlier this week and is expected to assume charge shortly. The NSCS functions under National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. All previous holders of the post — including Lt. Gen. N.S. Raja Subramani, Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, and General Anil Chauhan — had retired from active service before taking the role, making Ghai's appointment a notable departure from established practice. Lt. Gen. Ghai rose to national prominence as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, when India conducted precision strikes on nine terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. He was awarded the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal for his leadership during the operation. His appointment is widely interpreted as an effort to bring real-time operational and strategic military experience closer to the apex of national security policy at a time when India is pursuing theatre command reforms, military integration, and capability modernisation.
What's missing
Neither source clarifies the formal mandate or scope of authority of the Military Adviser role within the NSCS, nor whether this appointment involved any change to the post's rank eligibility criteria or terms of service to accommodate a serving officer.
How coverage differed
Both outlets reported the core facts consistently. SSBCrack provided an extensive biographical profile and framed the appointment as a broad institutional signal about India's evolving national security architecture, while The Hindu offered a more concise, news-focused report emphasizing the historic first and noting that Ghai's tenure extends to December 2027.
What different sources said
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