Before assuming charge of the CDS, Gen Chauhan paid tributes to India's fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the India Gate complex.
Their mortal remains are expected to arrive in the national capital in a military plane by Thursday evening, the sources said.
IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 12 others, is being shifted to Bengaluru from the Army hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu, his father said on Thursday.
He is the country's tenth NSA, but it is for the first time that a serving ISI chief has been given the task to serve concurrently in the two key positions.
A quintessential military commander, Gen Bipin Rawat possessed an uncanny understanding of geopolitical upheavals, calibrated a tri-services military doctrine to make India face myriad security challenges, and is largely credited with bringing down militancy in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
Here is a timeline of what happened to the Indian Air Force helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and others that crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday:
India recognised acts of gallantry by armed forces personnel and senior military officers involved in Operation Sindoor, along with other distinguished service awards, on the eve of the 79th Independence Day.
The chopper took off at 11.48 am from the Sulur Air Base and was reported to be missing at around 12.22 pm, sources informed.
'But, then are we saying that armed forces must prepare for war? No'
The air defence command is to be rolled out by the beginning of next year and the Peninsula command by the end of 2021, Gen Rawat told a select group of journalists. The Indian Air Force will helm the air defence command and all-long range missiles as well as air defence assets will come under it, he said.
In Karnataka, home minister Araga Jnanendra directed police to track down the 'anti-national' persons who posted objectionable comments about the late chief of defence staff, and 'punish them befitting their distorted minds.'
The chief of air staff also said that independent air defence systems in the field will have very little relevance in tomorrow's wars unless they are a part of a larger integrated air defence system.
Top military officials from India and Pakistan highlighted their views at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, billed as Asia's premier defence forum, amid heightened tensions between the two sides following last month's military confrontation.
Gen Dwivedi, who has vast operational experience along the frontiers with China and Pakistan, was serving as the Vice Chief of the Army.
'With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,' the IAF tweeted.
The plaintive strains of bugles sounding the last post broke through the hush, men in uniform clicked their heels and a 17-gun salute rang out as Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife were cremated on Friday evening -- the sun setting on a day written into India's military history and on the life of its most senior military officer.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India's defence exports have crossed a record Rs 21,000 crore, a significant jump from Rs 2,000 crore a decade ago. He set a target of achieving defence exports of Rs 50,000 crore by 2029. Singh highlighted the importance of mastering frontier technologies in the face of evolving warfare, emphasizing the role of military training centers in preparing soldiers for future challenges. He also underscored the government's commitment to strengthening integration and jointness among the three services, aiming to enhance the armed forces' ability to face challenges together.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Tuesday underlined the evolving nature of warfare and said a combat has always been between humans but now the world is going to enter an era in which it may be between a machine and human being and later between machines.
Singh reached Udhampur on a two-day visit on Friday, his second trip to Jammu and Kashmir post-Operation Sindoor. He visited Kashmir on May 15, days after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military actions against each other.
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
Official sources said Singh will brief President Kovind about the accident as well as the situation arising out of it.
The government on Tuesday decided to set up a committee of secretaries to fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects along the border with China.
'The lesson Beijing would have learned is that there is, cost-benefit wise, no better option than to keep the Pakistan military supplied with its most advanced armaments, certain that in hostilities with India these would be used for maximum effect.'
Lt Gen Pande will succeed General MM Naravane, whose tenure ends on April 30.
India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the Palam airbase in New Delhi and paid his last respects to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and other 11 armed force personnel who lost their lives in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army. In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
In continuation of a tradition that started in 1950, Nepal Army chief Gen Prabhu Ram Sharma was conferred with the honorary rank of 'General of the Indian Army' by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday.
In his condolence message, Modi said he was deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in which Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the armed forces died.
The aircraft was allowed to move inside India as the air defence personnel knew who was inside the plane, they said.
The defence ministry said the test-flight was carried out on Wednesday evening and it met all the trial objectives, validating the reliable performance, as confirmed from the data captured by a number of range sensors deployed at different locations.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called on President Ram Nath Kovind and briefed him about the chopper crash near Coonoor that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 armed forces personnel.
Huge crowds of mourners gathered outside as armed forces personnel took the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat inside the Brar Square crematorium in the Delhi Cantonment on Friday.
"The DAC accorded approval for procurement of equipment worth over Rs 5,100 crore from indigenous sources. These include sophisticated Electronic Warfare Systems for the Army designed by DRDO and manufactured locally by the Indian industry," the defence ministry said.
Naravane's appointment has been cleared at the highest level, adding the government has followed the principle of seniority in the appointment.
China has protested to India over Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's reported remarks about Beijing constituting the "biggest security threat", the Ministry of Defence here said on Thursday.
The commanders present in Delhi gathered at the South Block in Raisina Hills area, while many others joined the deliberations virtually.
Sources said Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the crash and the Indian Air Force chief has been asked to reach the site.
On Saturday morning, the daughters of CDS General Rawat, Kritika and Tarini, collected the ashes of their parents from Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment and reached Haridwar to immerse them in the Ganges.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Tuesday said the deployment of the Chinese military on India's northern borders is not increasing day by day.
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