Lt Gen Mukund Naravane takes charge as vice chief of Indian Army; ex-Eastern Commander in race for top post after Bipin Rawat’s retirement

New Delhi: Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Sunday assumed charge as the vice chief of the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army. Naravane will be in contention for the Army chief’s post as he will be the senior-most commander when incumbent Army Chief General Bipin Rawat retires on 31 December, official sources said. [caption id=“attachment_7265091” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Lieutenant General Mukund Naravane. ANI[/caption] Naravane succeeds Lieutenant General D Anbu who retired from service on Saturday. Before taking charge as vice chief of the Army Staff, Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Army which takes care of India’s nearly 4,000-kilometre border with China. In his 37 years of service, Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front. He was also part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka and had served as India’s defence attache at the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for three years. Naravane is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 7th battalion, the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment in June 1980. “He brings with him an enormous amount of experience in serving in the most challenging areas,” the Army said in a release. The General is a decorated officer who has been awarded the ‘Sena Medal’ (Distinguished) for effectively commanding his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He is also a recipient of the ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his services as the Inspector General Assam Rifles (North) in Nagaland and the ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ for commanding of a prestigious strike corps. He was also honoured with ‘Param Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his distinguished services as the GOC-in-C of the Army Training Command.