Vice-Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi took over as the Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) on Thursday. A day before, Vice-Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh took over from him as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOCINC), Western Naval Command, at INS Shikra in Mumbai.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, is set to step down on superannuation on April 30 when Vice-Admiral Tripathi will be the senior-most Naval officer. All three Services will get new Chiefs this year. In another change, Vice-Admiral V. Srinivas took over as 30th FOCINC of the Southern Naval Command in a ceremonial parade at the Naval Base in Kochi on December 31. He replaced Vice-Admiral M. A. Hampiholi, who retired after close to four decades in the Navy.
An alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa, and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Vice-Admiral Tripathi was commissioned into the Navy on July 1, 1985. A communication and electronic warfare specialist, on promotion to the rank of Vice-Admiral in June 2019, he was appointed Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala, and served as Director-General of Naval Operations from July 2020 to May 2021. Later, from June 2021 to February 2023, he served as the Chief of Personnel.
Before taking over as the FOCINC, Vice-Admiral Singh served as the VCNS at Naval Headquarters. He was commissioned in 1986 into the Executive Branch of the Navy.
Among other appointments, Vice-Admiral Kiran Deshmukh assumed charge as the Chief of Materiel (COM).
In the Army, Lt. General R.C. Tiwari assumed charge as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command on January 1. Lt. Gen. Navin Sachdeva took over the Command of the White Knight Corps from Lt. Gen. Sandeep Jain. Lt. Gen. Nagendra Singh assumed the command of the Chetak corps.
Lt. Gen. Prit Pal Singh assumed the command of the Sudarshan Chakra Corps from Lt. Gen. Vipul Shinghal.
