Major rejig in Army, Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane appointed next vice chief

In major rejig in the Army, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has been appointed the next vice-chief of the force, official sources said on Monday.

Lt Gen Naravane succeeds Lt Gen D Anbu who retires on August 31.

Lt Gen Naravane will be in contention for the Army chief's post as he will be the senior-most commander when incumbent Gen Bipin Rawat retires on December 31, sources said.

In his 37 years of service, Lt Gen Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter insurgency environments. He has also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an Infantry Brigade on the eastern front.

In another key appointment, Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Anil Chauhan will be new General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command.

Sources said Lt Gen A S Kler has been appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South-Western Command, succeeding Lt Gen Cherish Matheson. Lt. Gen Matheson retires on August 31.

Lt Gen I S Ghuman has been appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command. He will succeed Lt Gen Abhay Krishna.

Lt Gen R P Singh has been appointed head of the Western Command. He succeeds Lt Gen Surinder Singh who retires from service on July 31.

Lt Gen Singh is currently serving as commander of the 21 Strike Corps.