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]


Ranbir Singh

Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service13 December 1980 – 31 January 2020
Rank Lieutenant General
Service numberIC-39070P
Unit9 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
RelationsColonel Manmohan Singh (retd) (Uncle)

Early life and education

Singh is 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 MedalAti Vishisht Seva Medal (Bar)
Yudh Seva MedalSena MedalSamanya Seva MedalSiachen Glacier Medal
Special Service MedalOperation Vijay MedalOperation Parakram MedalSainya Seva Medal
High Altitude Service MedalVidesh Seva Medal50th Anniversary of Independence Medal30 Years Long Service Medal
20 Years Long Service Medal9 Years Long Service MedalUNAMIRUNMIS

Dates of rank

InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army13 December 1980[16]
LieutenantIndian Army13 December 1982[17]
CaptainIndian Army13 December 1985[18]
MajorIndian Army13 December 1991[19]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army31 December 2002[20]
ColonelIndian Army1 February 2005[21]
BrigadierIndian Army1 November 2008 (seniority from 21 January 2008)[22]
Major GeneralIndian Army26 June 2013 (seniority from 9 April 2011)[23]
Lieutenant-GeneralIndian Army2 December 2015[24]

Personal life

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

References

Military offices
Preceded by General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
1 June 2018 – 31 January 2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Shokin Chauhan
General Officer Commanding I Corps
30 November 2016 – 28 December 2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Director General of Military Operations Succeeded by