Manoj Mukund Naravane

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manoj Mukund Naravane

• Manoj Mukund Naravane is Param Vishisht Seva Medal holder Lieutenant General in the Indian Army. He became the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) on 31 December 2019, after Bipin Rawat retired from the same post.

• In June 1980, Naravane started his career with the 7th Sikh Light Infantry. He has an experience of more than 39 years, and he has served in the counter-insurgency operations of Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast.

• During his career, he commanded the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir, the Assam Rifles in Northeast India as the Inspector General (North), General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOCC) of the Delhi Area, and the 20th General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOCC) of the Army Training Command (1 December 2017 – 30 September 2018).

  

• He has also served as the Indian Defence Attache at the Indian Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar.

  

• When he was posted as the General Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Delhi area, he was the commander of the 2017 Republic Day Parade.

  

• On 1 October 2018, he took charge as the General Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Command. The Eastern Command guards India’s 4,000 km long border with China in the eastern sector.

  

• He is married to Veena Naravane who is a teacher, and she has an experience of more than 27 years in the field of teaching in India and abroad. She is also the Vice President of the Army Wives’ Welfare Association.

• On 16 December 2019, on the eve of Vijay Diwas, he was named as the next Chief of the Army Staff of India after the 27th Army Chief, Bipin Rawat, retires on 31 December 2019.

• After Manoj Naravane took charge as the Army Chief, all the defence chiefs of India were from the same course of the 56th National Defence Academy, Pune. It was the second time in the history of India that such a coincidence happened.
  

• On 16 December 2021, he assumed the charge as the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee that comprises the three service chiefs; the post fell vacant after CDS Bipin Rawat was killed in the IAF helicopter crash on 8 December 2021.

• On 30 April 2022, General Naravane retired as the Chief of Army Staff after he handed over the charge to General Manoj Pande.