The central government announced Thursday night that Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will be India’s next naval boss when he takes over from Admiral R Hari Kumar on April 30. Kumar is retiring after leading the Indian Navy for two years and five months.
That day, when Kumar retires, Tripathi, who is currently the vice chief, will be the navy’s top leader. So, by making him the new leader, the government followed the idea of seniority for the forces.
As of May 31, Indian Army boss General Manoj Pande will be leaving his position. This will lead to more changes in the top military leadership of the country. Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, vice chief, is the clear favorite for the top job because he will be the most senior officer when Pande leaves.
Before he became vice chief of the navy in January 2024, Tripathi was in charge of the Western Naval Command. He had been the navy’s chief of people before.
He went to Sainik School in Rewa and the National Defense Academy in Khadakwasla. On July 1, 1985, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy.
He was an expert in both communication and electronic warfare and worked as a signal communication officer and an electronic warfare officer on frontline battleships. Later, he was the executive officer and chief warfare officer of the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai.
He will be taking over the service at a time when China is carefully playing its power play for influence, the rules-based international order is being defended, and the Arabian Sea is becoming a new front as tensions rise in the Red Sea and piracy returns.
Tripathi will also be in charge of the navy’s plans to modernize, with a strong focus on making the navy more like the other services. By 2047, when India will have been free for 100 years, the navy hopes to be fully self-sufficient.
Tripathi has been in charge of warships like Vinash, Kirch, and Trishul, and he has also been in a lot of important operational and staff positions, such as fleet operations officer of the Western Fleet in Mumbai, director of naval operations, principal director of network-centric operations, and principal director of naval plans in New Delhi. Among his other jobs are Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans).`
After being promoted to vice admiral in June 2019, he was put in charge of the prestigious Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala. From July 2020 to May 2021, he was also in charge of all naval activities. In this last job, he made sure that the navy stayed a combat-ready, unified, and trustworthy force that was ready to deal with a wide range of difficult security issues, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tripathi graduated from the very best Defence Services Staff College in Wellington. He also went to the Naval War College in Goa and the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He really loves sports and watches tennis, badminton, and softball. A big fan of military history and foreign relations, he is also known for this.
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