New Delhi: Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane will be the next Army Chief. Lt. Gen. Naravane is the most senior army commander and Modi government has followed the seniority principle by nominating him as next Army Chief.
Gen. Rawat was appointed as Army chief in December 2016, by superseding two officers senior to him. Also, vice admiral Karambir Singh was appointed as Navy Chief superseding his senior vice-admiral Bimal Verma.
Lt. Gen. Naravane is currently vice-chief of the Army Staff.
The present Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat retires on December 31.
Lt. Gen. Naravane and Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh (senior most officer after Lt Gen Naravane) currently chief of Northern Command were contenders for the post of Army chief.
Lt. Gen. Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 7th Battalion, The Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980.
He brings with him an enormous amount of experience in serving in the most challenging areas.
In a distinguished military career spanning almost four decades, he has the distinction of serving key appointments in active counter insurgency environments, both in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir and was a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka during Operation pawan. He also has had the opportunity of serving as a Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years.
