Who is Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, next chief of the Indian Navy?

Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi has a distinguished career spanning various roles, including commanding naval ships and holding key operational and staff positions. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a commitment to operational readiness and strategic planning

Anish Kumar

First Published Apr 18, 2024, 11:59 PM IST | Last Updated Apr 19, 2024, 12:03 AM IST

Senior Indian Navy officer Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi has been named as the next Chief of the Naval Staff. He will succeed Admiral R Hari Kumar, who is scheduled to superannuate on April 30. An alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, the Admiral was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1985.

A Communication and Electronic Warfare specialist, he served on frontline warships of the Navy as a Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer, and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer INS Mumbai. He commanded Indian naval ships Vinash, Kirch and Trishul.

He has also held various important operational and staff appointments which include Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet at Mumbai, Director of Naval Operations, Principal Director Network Centric Operations and Principal Director of Naval Plans at New Delhi. On promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, he served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at NHQ and as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.

On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral in Jun 2019, the Flag Officer was appointed as Commandant of the prestigious Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala. He was the Director General of Naval Operations from July 2020 to May 2021, a period that witnessed a high tempo of Naval Maritime Operations.

He ensured that the Navy remained a 'Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future Proof Force, ready to address a host of complex security challenges despite the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, from June 2021 to February 2023, the Flag Officer served as the Chief of Personnel. The Admiral is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimmaiya Medal.

He also attended the Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Islands in 2007-08, where he won the prestigious Robert E Bateman International Prize.

Vice Admiral Tripathi is a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Nausena Medal for devotion to duty. He is also a keen sportsman and avidly follows tennis, badminton, and cricket. The Flag Officer is a keen student of international relations, military history and the art & science of leadership. He is married to Shashi Tripathi, an artist and homemaker. The couple have one son, a practising lawyer, who is married to Tanya, who works in the policy-making domain.

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