Operational Commands

The army has six tactical area commands: the Northern Command headquartered at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir, the Western Command headquartered at Chandimandir in Chandigarh, the Central Command headquartered at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the Eastern Command headquartered at Calcutta, and the Southern Command headquartered at Pune in Maharashtra. Each command is headed by a lieutenant general. In the Indian context, Command Headquarter can be likened to a Field Army or even an Army Group Headquarter with a General Officer Commanding-in-Chief presiding over matters in the rank of a (three-star) Lieutenant General.

Northern Command Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir	all agree XIV Corps - Leh, Ladakh XV Corps - Srinagar, Kashmir XVI Corps - Nagrota, Jammu
Western Command Chandimandir, Chandigarh (Punjab)	indianarmy.nic.in II Corps - Ambala, Haryana (Strike Corps) IX Corps - Yol Camp XI Corps - Jalandhar, Punjab Jane's via Wiki II Corps - Ambala, Haryana (Strike Corps) IX Corps - Yol Camp X Corps - Bhatinda, Punjab XI Corps - Jalandhar, Punjab bharat-rakshak.com II Corps - Ambala, Haryana (Strike Corps) X Corps - Bhatinda, Punjab XI Corps - Jalandhar, Punjab
South Western Command Jaipur, Rajasthan	indianarmy.nic.in I Corps X Corps Jane's via Wiki XII Corps bharat-rakshak.com IX Corps - Mamun (Pathankot), Punjab
Eastern Command Kolkota, West Bengal	all agree III Corps - Rangapahar (Dimapur), Nagaland IV Corps - Tezpur, Assam XXXIII Corps - Siliguri, West Bengal
Southern Command Pune, Maharashtra	another Army website bharat-rakshak.com XII Corps - Jodhpur, Rajasthan XXI Corps - Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Strike Corps) indianarmy.nic.in Jane's via Wiki XXI Corps - Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (Strike Corps)
Central Command Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh	indianarmy.nic.in 6 Mtn Div bharat-rakshak.com Jane's via Wiki I Corps - Mathura, Uttar Pradesh (Strike Corps)
ARTRAC (Army Training Command) Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

There are at least three sources for the composition of these Commands. The official indianarmy.nic.in website has an undated listing, Wikipedia has a list citing Jane's World Armies, Issue 19, 2006, p.319 , and the generally reliable bharat-rakshak.com also has an undated list. Of the six operational Commands, all three sources are in agreement on the composition of Northern Command and Eastern Command. The main problem seems to have arisen from the raising of the new South Western Command in 2005, and the three sources are in complete disagreement as to the Corps allocated to this new Command. It is clear that I Corps was realinged to South West Command.

However, it is very well attested that in mid-2005 Indian Army raised a new corps at Yol Cantt in Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh. The new corps, christened 9 Corps, comprised 26 and 29 Infantry Divisions, and was allocated to Western Command. This strongly suggests that the official Indian Army website is the most accurate and current, since it correctly reported the allocation of 9 Corps, the bharat-rakshak.com the oldest and least realiable, since it completely missed IX Corps, and the Jane's list of intermediate vintate, since it seems to represent a snapshot raising of 9 Corps and the movement of X Corps from Western Command to the new South Western Command.

The whereabouts of XII Corps becomes something of a puzzle, since the seemingly authoritative official Indian Army website makes no mention of this formation, though another Army website places XII Corps under Southern Command along with XXI Corps. The seemingly dated the bharat-rakshak.com places XII Corps in Jodhpur, Rajasthan under Southern Command, while Jane's puts the XII Corps under South Western Command