Ranbir Singh (general)

Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, YSM, SM, ADC is a former General Officer in the Indian Army. He last served as the General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command. He assumed office on 1 June 2018 from Lt Gen Devraj Anbu who assumed the office of Vice Chief of the Army Staff.[1][2][3] He was the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army during the 2016 Indian Line of Control strike & during the 2015 Indian counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar he was Additional Director General of Military Operations (ADGMO).[4] He was considered the face of the operations because he briefed the media after both the strikes.[5]

Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh PVSM, AVSM**, YSM, SM, ADC
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	13 December 1980 – 31 January 2020
Rank	Lieutenant General
Service number	IC-39070P
Unit	9 Dogra
Commands held	Northern Army I Corps 33 Armoured Division 181 Mountain Brigade
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (Bar) Yudh Seva Medal Sena Medal
Spouse(s)	Kalpana
Relations	Colonel Manmohan Singh (retd) (Uncle)

Early life and education

Singh hails from Jalandhar and his family belongs to Ambala Jattan, Hoshiarpur district, Punjab. His father, who was a JCO in the Indian Army, died when he was young. His uncle, Colonel Manmohan Singh (retd), adopted him when he was three years old.[6][7]

He is an alumnus of St. Joseph’s Convent School, Lajpat Nagar; Sainik School, Kapurthala; National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He has also attended Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; Faculty of Studies at Army War College, Mhow and Royal College of Defence Studies, London.[8][9][7][6]

Career

Singh was commissioned into the 9th battalion, Dogra Regiment on 13 December 1980. He has held various important Command, Staff and Instructor appointments during his career. He is considered to be an expert at counter insurgency operations, operational art and information operations. He has also served in the military operations directorate as a Colonel and Brigadier. His commands include the 181 Mountain Brigade, 33 Armoured division and I Corps (Mathura). He has held various staff appointments including that of Additional Director General of Military Operations(ADGMO) when he was Major general, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems and Training). He has also served in UN Peacekeeping Missions to Rwanda and as a Chief Operations Officer at Sudan.[9][8][10][11][12][2][3]

During his career, he has been awarded the Yudh Seva Medal (2010) as the Brigadier of 181 Mountain Brigade, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal twice (2015, 2018) for his service, and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2020.[13][14][10] [15]

.

Honours and decorations

Param Vishisht Seva Medal		Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (Bar)
Yudh Seva Medal	Sena Medal	Samanya Seva Medal	Siachen Glacier Medal
Special Service Medal	Operation Vijay Medal	Operation Parakram Medal	Sainya Seva Medal
High Altitude Service Medal	Videsh Seva Medal	50th Anniversary of Independence Medal	30 Years Long Service Medal
20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal	UNAMIR	UNMIS

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 December 1980[16]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 December 1982[17]
	Captain	Indian Army	13 December 1985[18]
	Major	Indian Army	13 December 1991[19]
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	31 December 2002[20]
	Colonel	Indian Army	1 February 2005[21]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	1 November 2008 (seniority from 21 January 2008)[22]
	Major General	Indian Army	26 June 2013 (seniority from 9 April 2011)[23]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	2 December 2015[24]

Personal life

Singh met his wife when he was posted in Mumbai and they have a son.[6]

References

1. "Lt Gen Ranbir Singh appointed Northern Army Commander - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
2. "'Face of Indian Army' Lt Gen Ranbir Singh appointed Northern Army Commander". The Week. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
3. "Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who announced surgical strikes, is Northern Army Commander". The Economic Times. 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
4. Pubby, Manu (2018-07-14). "Lt Gen Ranbir Singh avenges death of soldiers from his Dogra regiment". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
5. "Meet Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, man of the moment after announcement of strikes". Hindustan Times. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
6. "I see it as my 85th birthday gift, says father".
7. "Kapurthala Cong rallies behind Amarinder". Archived from the original on 2017-12-07.
8. Shukla, Tarun (2016-09-30). "Meet Ranbir Singh, the face of India's surgical strikes across LoC". livemint.com/. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
9. "Lt Gen Ranbir Singh takes charge of Strike Corps". The Economic Times. 2016-11-30. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
10. "Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decoration". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
11. "Lt General Ranbir Singh promoted to GOC Strike 1 Corps, AK Bhatt new DGMO". Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
12. "Lt General Taranjit Singh assumes Command Of Strike 1". www.aninews.in. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
13. "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced".
14. "President Confers Gallantry and Distinguished Service Awards". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
15. http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/userfiles/List%20of%20all%20gallantry%20and%20distinguished%20service%20awardees.%20-%20Copy%201.pdf
16. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 17 April 1982. p. 550.
17. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 August 1983. p. 1395.
18. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 11 October 1986. p. 1536.
19. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 20 June 1992. p. 1103.
20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 4 September 2004. p. 1250.
21. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 25 March 2006. p. 412.
22. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 10 April 2010. p. 605.
23. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 28 March 2015. p. 695.
24. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 July 2016. p. 1671.