| Office2: | 16th Chief of the Army Staff |
| Term2: | 1 July 1990 – 30 June 1993 |
| President2: | Ramaswamy Venkataraman Shankar Dayal Sharma |
| Primeminister2: | V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Predecessor2: | Sunith Francis Rodrigues |
| Successor2: | Shankar Roy Chowdhary |
| Honorific Prefix: | General |
| Bipin Chandra Joshi | |
| Honorific Suffix: | PVSM, AVSM, ADC |
| Birth Date: | 5 December 1935[1] |
| Birth Place: | Pithoragarh, United Provinces, British India (now Uttarakhand, India) |
| Death Place: | New Delhi, India |
| Serviceyears: | 1954–1994 |
| Allegiance: |  India |
| Rank: | General |
| Servicenumber: | IC-7011 |
| Commands: | Western Army Southern Army |
| Awards: | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal |
General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (5 December 1935 - 19 November 1994) was the 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He is the only Chief of the Indian Army to die in office, and until the 2021 death of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash, the only full general and serving Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to have died in office.
Joshi was born in a Hindu Kumaoni Brahmin family. He was the first Army Chief from Uttar Pradesh (Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand was a part of erstwhile Uttar Pradesh).
Joshi also became Colonel of the regiment of the 64 Cavalry later in his career.
Joshi has been a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of the most exceptional order.
Joshi died of a cardiac arrest in New Delhi Military Hospital on 18 November 1994.[4] He was due to retire in 1995. He was the first Chief of Indian Army who died in harness. General Bipin Rawat, former Chief and the serving Chief of Defence Staff, also died in a tragic helicopter crash in December 2021 whilst landing at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. General Joshi’s untimely death changed the entire line of succession for the post of Chief of Army Staff, which is typically decided on the basis of seniority. As a result, Lt. Gen. Shankar Roy Chowdhary was promoted to full general and appointed as the 17th Chief of Army Staff.
The Gen. B. C. Joshi Army Public School was established in 1993 in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand in his honour.[5]
| Param Vishisht Seva Medal | ||||
| Ati Vishisht Seva Medal | Samanya Seva Medal | Paschimi Star | Special Service Medal | |
| Raksha Medal | Sangram Medal | Sainya Seva Medal | Videsh Seva Medal | |
| 25th Anniversary of Independence Medal | 30 Years Long Service Medal | 20 Years Long Service Medal | 9 Years Long Service Medal | |
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date of rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 December 1954 | |||
| Indian Army | 4 December 1956[6] | ||
| Indian Army | 4 December 1960[7] | ||
| Indian Army | 4 December 1967[8] | ||
| Indian Army | 1 April 1974[9] | ||
| Indian Army | 19 October 1979[10] | ||
| Indian Army | 1 April 1980[11] | ||
| Indian Army | 1 October 1984[12] | ||
| Indian Army | 2 June 1987 (seniority from 1 April)[13] | ||
| General (COAS) | Indian Army | 1 July 1993[14] | |