Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi To Be Next Chief Of Indian Navy, Set To Take Charge On 30 April

The government has appointed Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi as the next Chief of Naval Staff.

He will take charge on 30 April after present Naval chief Admiral R Hari Kumar retires from service.

Born on 15 May 1964, Tripathi is an alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. He was commissioned into the executive branch of the Indian Navy in 1985.

A Communication and Electronic Warfare specialist, he served on frontline warships of the Navy as Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer, and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of 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 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 took over as the as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff on 4 January 2024.

Vice Admiral Tripathi is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimmaiya Medal.

He also attended 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. 

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