Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane will be the 28th Chief of Army Staff, official sources said on Monday. Lt Gen Naravane, who is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army, will succeed General Bipin Rawat. Once he takes over, chiefs of all the three services would be from the 56th course of NDA.
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat is due for retirement on December 31. Before taking charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff in September, Lt Gen Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Indian Army. The Eastern Command takes care of the 4,000-km border that India shares with China.
In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front. He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and had served as India’s defence attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years.
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.
The General is a decorated officer who has been awarded the ‘Sena Medal’ (Distinguished) for effectively commanding his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He is also a recipient of the ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his services as the Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) in Nagaland and the ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ for commanding of a prestigious strike corps.
