[citation needed] He was an instructor at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun after which he served as a company commander during Operation Pawan in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

He then commanded the 53 Infantry Brigade, which was involved in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley from July 2003 to March 2005, and the 8th Mountain Division in Kargil from October 2007 to December 2008.

Singh's unit had allegedly botched up a military intelligence operation in Jorhat, Assam, which happened during his tenure as the III Corps commander.

[citation needed] His name was recommended by the Defence Ministry of India to the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) which was headed by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He assumed charge as Chief of the Army staff on 31 July 2014 following the retirement of General Bikram Singh, and served in that capacity until 31 December 2016.

[18] Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi representing the Government of India, also justified the appointment, arguing that there was nothing in the allegations levelled and that Singh fulfilled all the criteria for the post including being senior-most in the seniority list.