The Indian government announced on Saturday that Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Bikram Singh will be the next army chief. Singh will take charge of the top army post on May 31 when army chief General VK Singh will retire. VK had been embroiled in a dispute with the government over his date of birth and even took the government to court over it but the Indian Supreme Court had forced VK to withdraw his petition. Bikram was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on March 31, 1972. During his long career, spanning nearly 40 years, he served in a variety of command and staff appointments. He commanded a corps in the Northern Command.