Lt Gen Mukund Naravane to be next Army Chief

Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane will be the next Chief of Army Staff helming the 1.3 million-strong force, official sources said on Monday.

Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice- Chief of theArmy.

   

Sources said Naravane’s appointment has been cleared at thehighest level, adding the government has followed the principle of seniority inthe appointment.

Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is due to retire on December 31after a three-year stint. He is expected to be appointed as the country’s firstChief of Defence Staff.

Before taking charge as vice-chief of the Army Staff inSeptember, Lt Gen Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Army whichtakes care of India’s nearly 4,000-km border with China.

In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served innumerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly activecounter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.

He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammuand Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front.

He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in SriLanka and had served as India’s defence attache at the Indian Embassy inMyanmar for three years.

Lt Gen Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academyand the Indian Military Academy.

He was commissioned into the 7th battalion, the Sikh LightInfantry Regiment in June 1980.

The General is a decorated officer who has been awarded the’Sena Medal’ (Distinguished) for effectively commanding his battalion in Jammuand Kashmir.

He is also a recipient of the ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ for hisservices as the Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) in Nagaland and the ‘AtiVishisht Seva Medal’ for commanding of a prestigious strike corps.

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