Lt Gen MM Naravane appointed Chief of Army Staff

Lt Gen Naravane will take over as Chief of the Army Staff in the substantive rank of General with effect from the afternoon of 31 December 2019, says a defence ministry release.

Lt Gen Naravane, who is currently serving as the Army’s Vice Chief, will be serving as the Chief of the Army Staff until April 2022.

Lt Gen Naravane did his schooling at Dnayana Prabodhinee Prashala, Pune. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy, the General Officer was commissioned into the 7th Battalion, The Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, in June 1980. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Higher Command Course, Mhow. He holds a Master’s Degree in Defence Studies, M Phil Degree in Defence and Management Studies and is currently pursuing his Doctorate.

In a distinguished military career spanning almost four decades, the General Officer has the distinction of occupying key command and staff positions in peace time and in the battle field both in North East and Jammu & Kashmir and has been part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka during ‘Operation Pawan’. The officer brings with him enormous experience of serving in the most challenging areas. 

The General Officer has commanded 2nd Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles (Sikh Light Infantry), 106 Infantry Brigade, Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) at Kohima, Nagaland and 2 Corps. His staff assignments include tenures as a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade, Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General (AA&QMG) of Headquarters Establishment No 22, Defence Attache at Yangon, Myanmar, an instructional appointment in the Army War College as Directing Staff in the Higher Command Wing, besides two tenures at the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army), New Delhi.

The General Officer had the privilege of commanding the Republic Day Parade in 2017 in his capacity as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Delhi Area. After successfully commanding the Army Training Command, Shimla, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command on 1 October 2018, according to the defence ministry release.