Vice Admiral DK Tripathi will lead the Indian Navy as its next chief, Rewa to Raisina
Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, who is currently Vice Chief of Naval Staff, was named Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) by the government on Thursday.
On April 30, in the afternoon, he would assume the position of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), replacing Admiral R. Hari Kumar, who is scheduled to retire that day.
On January 4, 2024, Vice Admiral Tripathi assumed the position of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Admiral Hari Kumar became the 25th Chief of the Naval Staff on November 30, 2021, after being commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1983.
On July 1, 1985, Vice Admiral DK Tripathi, who attended the National Defense Academy at Khadakwasla and Sainik School Rewa, received his appointment in the Indian Navy.
Specializing in both communication and electronic warfare, he worked as an Electronic Warfare and Signal Communication Officer aboard Navy front-line warships before becoming the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai.
Vinash, Kirch, and Trishul are the Indian naval ships under his command. Additionally, he has held a number of significant administrative and operational positions, including Principal Director of Naval Plans in New Delhi, Director of Naval Operations, Principal Director of Network Centric Operations, and Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet in Mumbai.
After being promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, he held the positions of Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at NHQ. As the Flag Officer was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral in June 2019, he was named Commandant of the esteemed Indian Naval Academy located in Ezhimala, Kerala.
From July 2020 until May 2021, he served as the Director General of Naval Operations, during which time naval maritime operations saw a rapid pace. Despite the overall severity of the COVID pandemic, he made sure that the Navy remained a “combat-ready, credible, Cohesive and future-proof Proof Force,” prepared to handle a variety of challenging security threats. Afterwards, the Flag Officer was the Chief of Personnel from June 21 to February 20, 2023.
The Admiral received the Thimayya Medal as a graduate of Wellington’s Defence Services Staff College. In 2007–08, he also participated in the US Naval War College’s Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College, where he was awarded the esteemed Robert E. Bateman International Prize.
For his dedication to service, Vice Admiral Tripathi has been awarded the Nausena Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. In addition, he enjoys sports and watches cricket, badminton, and tennis with great interest. The flag officer is an enthusiastic learner of military history, international relations, and the art and science of leadership.
He is wed to artist and housewife Mrs. Shashi Tripathi. The couple’s only child, a practicing attorney, is wed to Tanya, a worker in the field of policymaking.
