Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja Takes Over as 47th Director General Armed Forces Medical Services

New DGAFMS Assumes Charge

Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja took over as the 47th Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, according to reports from the Free Press Journal and Lokmat Times. He succeeds Air Marshal Sanjiv Ghuratia, who superannuated on August 31 after 39 years of service, as reported by the Free Press Journal.

In his new role, Air Marshal Thareja will oversee the provision of comprehensive medical support to the Defence Forces, as stated by the Ministry of Defence in an official statement.

Ministry's Statement on Transformation

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that his appointment comes at a time of significant transformation within the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), with continuing emphasis on operational medical preparedness, jointness, modernisation of military healthcare, digital health, medical research and innovation, human-resource development, and delivery of high-quality healthcare to serving personnel, veterans, and their dependents.

Career Highlights

Air Marshal Thareja is an alumnus of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, and was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in December 1986. He is a distinguished physician and gastroenterologist, having completed his MD in Medicine from Delhi and DM in Gastroenterology from AIIMS, New Delhi, according to the defence ministry.

His career spans nearly four decades, with important command and administrative assignments including Commandant, 167 Military Hospital; Brigadier In-Charge Administration and Commander Troops, Base Hospital Delhi Cantonment; and Commandant, Command Hospital (Central Command).

The Ministry of Defence said his tenure at Base Hospital Delhi Cantonment during the COVID-19 pandemic was marked by the management of complex and rapidly evolving healthcare and administrative challenges. During his command of Command Hospital, Lucknow, the Detailed Project Report for a new Command Hospital was prepared in record time, according to the MoD.

As Director and Commandant at AFMC Pune, he spearheaded several initiatives aimed at strengthening medical education and research, the ministry said. As DGMS (Air), he gave thrust to the Gaganyaan Mission and was the leading force behind Analogue experiments for astronaut selection and training. Under his stewardship, BHISHM cubes were gifted to the Maldives by the Prime Minister and, as part of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), to Jamaica, Cuba, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.

Prior to taking over as DGAFMS, Air Marshal Thareja laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi and paid homage to the fallen heroes, as reported by both outlets.

Other Appointment

In a separate development, Air Marshal KAA Sanjeeb assumed the charge of Air Officer-in-Charge Maintenance of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday, as reported by the Free Press Journal. Air Marshal Sanjeeb was commissioned in the IAF on September 3, 1988, in the Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical Branch). He has field experience on IL-76, AWACS, and Boeing 737-200 aircraft, and was the lead engineer for induction of the first IL-78 Flight Refueller Aircraft into IAF in 2003. He is an alumnus of the Bangladesh Flight Safety Institute and the Indian Institute of Public Administration.