B. S. Raju

He has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 29 April, 2022. He took charge on 1 May 2022 succeeding General Manoj Pande (then Lt General) on his elevation.

On 25 February 2021 India Pakistan agreed to stand by the Ceasefire Agreement of 2003, which was a welcome move across both the borders. Guns will remain silent and locals living across the border will get a chance to live their normal lives, which was hampered by numerous cease fire violations in the past. Lt Gen B S Raju also welcomed the move and commented that observing ceasefire is in interest of both India and Pakistan, and need of hour and he wants this truce to work.

He had been the 49th Commander of the XV Corps (Chinar Corps) from 1 March 2020 to 17 March 2021, assuming the post from Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon. Before taking over the charge of the Chinar Corps, he served as the Director General of Staff Duties. He is also the Colonel of the Jat Regiment since 1 February 2021 after taking over from Lieutenant General S K Saini, the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

During one of the interview, Lt Gen B S Raju gave a message to youth of Kashmir. He amply conveyed to the youth that even if they have drifted from the mainstream society and have picked up arms, they will still be taken care of. He told that even during operations any youth can come back and we will help him in joining mainstream. "My main message to youth - is you can get back and we will take care of you. In the last six months, seventeen of those who had strayed have come back and we will take care of them. My appeal to the youth who have gone astray is to come back. They can get back anytime, including during operations. They can call anybody, their parents, our helpline and we will organise their return," he said. Again on 7 July 2020, Lt Gen Raju was quoted where he said, "As I said, every loss of life is unfortunate. We don't want to kill militants, we give them an opportunity to surrender."

Lt Gen B S Raju commanded the elite Counter Insurgency Force in troubled times from 28 March 2017 to 1 April 2018 post elimination of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen. It was during this period only that a blooming footballer Majid Khan who had treaded the path of terrorism was given opportunity to return to mainstream and he had surrendered. As a Force Commander he oversaw the successful operation in which the killers of Lt Umar Fayaz were eliminated in South Kashmir

While Commanding Counter Insurgency Force (Victor) in troubled time of 2017–2018, he built a reputation of a man giving respect to human values and had a deep sense of belonging with the locals. While taking over, he emphasised that "The Army is a friend of every civilian and that message has been conveyed aptly by my predecessor. My every attempt would be to continue this practice".

After being promoted to the rank of brigadier, he was appointed commander of the Uri Brigade in August 2011. He commanded the brigade till 30 December 2012. He subsequently served as the Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at HQ XVI Corps and as the Deputy Director General Military Operations (DDGMO) and Director General Staff Duties at Army HQ.

The inclusion of digital learning in Army Goodwill Schools empowers the students by getting them to become more interested in learning and expanding their horizon. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd in continuation to its CSR sponsorship for 'Digitization of the Army Goodwill Schools' has sponsored 10 more schools for digitization. This project was executed by iDreams Social Edtech Foundation. The digitization has bought the AGSs at par with the best schools anywhere in the country. Teachers and students of these schools now have the access to the best instructional material in their tablets. The results of AGSs in 10th and 12th Board exams have been improving every year. In fact, it is one of the best in the UT of J & K and now it would further improve the teaching-learning methods, to the benefit of the students of these schools. This initiative of Power Grid Cooperation of India Limited towards making a difference to the lives of Kashmiri students, mostly from under privileged section, is praise worthy and it fructified under the command of Lt Gen B S Raju.

Raju was commissioned in December 1984 in the 11th battalion, the Jat Regiment (11 Jat). He later commanded 15th Battalion, the Jat Regiment (15 JAT). He has served as an Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and at the Army War College, Mhow. In staff appointments, he has served as the brigade major of an infantry brigade and as the Colonel Military Secretary (Legal) at Army HQ.

The General Officer served as Commandant, Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan prior to assuming command of XV Corps. He has an incisive understanding of Jammu and Kashmir, as he has served in Kashmir for five tenures since 1984.

Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju, UYSM, AVSM, YSM (born 19 October 1963) is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the 44th Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He served as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO).