New Delhi: India will have Lt. General Manoj Mukund Naravane as the next Army Chief after current Chief, Bipin Rawat, steps down on 31 December.
Lt General Manoj Mukund is currently the Vice Chief of the Army. He was the head of the Eastern Command of the Army and has 37 years of service in the Army. He had held several commands and staff appointments in peace, field and in highly active counter insurgency environments.
The Lt General had commanded the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade. The alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy was part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and served as the India’s defence attache a the Indian Embassy in Myanmar.
He is a decorated officer awarded with the ‘Sena Medal’ for effectively commanding his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He is also decorated with the Vishisht Seva Medal and also the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.