XII Corps (India)


The XII Corps, or the Konark Corps/Desert Corps, is a corps of the Indian Army and one of the two corps of the Pune-based Southern Command.

Formation

With two combat divisions on the order of battle of Southern Command and increasing operational importance of the desert sector, by January 1987, a Corps Headquarters was sanctioned. HQ 12 Corps was raised at Jodhpur during the volatile days of Operation Trident. The corps, which came into existence on the auspicious day of Maha Shivaratri on February 26, 1987 is charged with protection of the desert sectors of the country falling in Rajasthan and Gujarat states and was raised under Lieutenant General A K Chatterjee as the first General Officer Commanding. Also referred to as Desert Corps within the army, the corps adopted Konark as its formation insignia after the Konark Sun Temple of Puri as a symbolic representation of the radiation of the sun in eight cardinal directions, thereby establishing a spiritual link with the Sun City - Jodhpur.

Order of battle

XII corps currently consists of:

Humanitarian assistance

The corps has been intimately involved in providing succor to citizens of India in times of natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods most noteworthy being Bhuj earthquake, floods in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

List of General Officer Commanding

RankNameAppointment DateLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
Lieutenant GeneralAK ChatterjeeFebruary 1987February 1988Sikh Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralR NarasimhanApril 1988May 1990Jat Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralYN SharmaMay 1990February 1992The Grenadiers
Lieutenant GeneralMoti DarMarch 1992December 199217th Horse (Poona Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralHM KhannaJanuary 1994August 19964th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralPS JoshiSeptember 1996January 19998th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralMA GurbaxaniJanuary 1999March 2001Rajput Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralHari PrasadMarch 2001August 2002Maratha Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralRam SubramanyamAugust 2002December 2003Corps of Engineers
Lieutenant GeneralKS JamwalDecember 2003April 2005Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant GeneralPR GangadharanApril 2006September 2006Maratha Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralSPS DhillonSeptember 2006January 2008Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant GeneralSN HandaJanuary 2008December 20083rd Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralAM VermaDecember 2008February 2010Rajput Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralNarendra SinghFebruary 2010June 2011Maratha Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralPhilip Campose3 July 2011August 2012Mechanised Infantry Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralMan Mohan Singh RaiAugust 2012August 2013Bombay Sappers
Lieutenant GeneralGS KatochAugust 20131 September 2014Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralBobby Mathews1 September 201410 October 2015Kumaon Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralVP SinghOctober 2015November 2016Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralPodali Shankar RajeshwarNovember 2016November 2017Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant GeneralRajni Kant JaggaNovember 2017November 20181st Horse (Skinner's Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralVS Sreenivas19 November 201810 February 2020The Garhwal Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralAnil Puri11 February 202013 February 2021Corps of Engineers
Lieutenant GeneralPS Minhas14 February 202106 March 2022Central India Horse
Lieutenant GeneralRakesh Kapoor07 March 202208 June 202363rd Cavalry
Lieutenant GeneralMohit Malhotra09 June 202316 June 2025Armoured Corps
Lieutenant GeneralAditya Vikram Singh Rathee16 June 2025IncumbentBrigade of the Guards