Lt Gen Surendranath new chief of staff, Southern Command

Lt Gen K Surendranath took over as chief of staff of Southern Army Command on Monday. He was commissioned into 71 Armoured Regiment in 1975 and later went on to command the same regiment, a defence ministry release said.

Lt Gen Surendranath has held number of challenging command appointments in western, northern and eastern theatres that include the command of an independent armoured brigade, an infantry division in counter insurgency environment and a corps deployed along the international border opposite the Tibet Administrative Region.

He has also been awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal for his meritorious service.

The officer has headed the operations branch of the Southern Command in 2010-11, where he oversaw the operationalisation of exercise ‘Sudarshan Shakti’, aimed at starting the transformation of the forces into a modern, lean, and agile fighting combination capable of leveraging new-age technologies.

Lt Gen Surendranath is an alumnus of Bishop Cotton School, Bangalore, the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasala and a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

A postgraduate in global security from Cranfield University, UK, he is an acknowledged expert in strategic affairs.