With Lieutenant General Deepak Kapoor set to take over as the Chief of Indian Army on October 1, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday announced a major reshuffle in the top echelons of the force, naming Lieutenant General Milan Lalitkumar Naidu as the new Vice Chief of Army Staff. Lieutenant General Tej Krishan Sapru, another highly decorated officer, is going to head the prestigious Western Army command.

Lieutenant General Sapru will take over the charge of the Chandimandir-based command on October 31, after the retirement of Lieutenant General Daljeet Singh, according to an official announcement in New Delhi on Friday.

Sapru is presently the Corp Commander of the key Nagrota based 16 Corp, which has the twin responsibility of guarding the Line of Control in the crucial sector from Chhamb to Poonch in Jammu and carrying out counter insurgency operations in the same belt.

Lieutenant General N Thamburaj, at present commanding a corp in Punjab, will be the chief of the Army's Southern Command. He will take over from Lieutenant General Aditya Singh on October 1.

Lieutenant General J K Mohanty, presently the commandant of the Mhow based Army War College, has been named the new commander of the Army Training Command. He replaces General Naidu and will take over on October 1, according to the official announcement.