Lt General Naravane assumes charge as Vice Chief of Army
New Delhi /Pune: Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane assumed charge of Vice Chief of the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army on Sunday. He will be in contention for the Army Chief’s post as he will be senior-most commander when incumbent Gen Bipin Rawat retires on December 31.
He succeeds Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, who after an illustrious career, superannuated on August 31. Before this, Lt Gen Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, which takes care of India’s border with China and Myanmar.
The General Officer is from Pune. He completed his school education in Jnana Prabodhini Prashala, Sadashiv Peth. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, and Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. He was commissioned into the 7th Battalion, The Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980.
In a press release, the Army stated, “Lt Gen Naravane 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 holding key appointments in active counter insurgency environments, both in the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir and was part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka during Operation Pawan. He has had the opportunity of serving as a Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years.”
The General is a highly decorated and accomplished officer who has been awarded the ‘Sena Medal’ (Distinguished) for command of his Battalion in J&K, the ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his services as the Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) in Nagaland, the ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ for command of a prestigious Strike Corps and was honoured with ‘Param Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his distinguished services as the GOC-in-C of the Army Training Command. Lt Gen Naravane is son of ex-Indian Air Force (IAF) Officer Mukund Naravane and Sudha Naravane, who was a popular news reader at All India Radio, Pune Station and noted Marathi short story writer.
