Adm Karambir Singh takes over as Navy Chief

New Delhi: Admiral Karambir Singh took over as the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) on Friday, following the superannuation of Admiral Sunil Lanba.

At a simple function here, outgoing CNS Admiral Sunil Lanba handed over the baton to Admiral Karambir, signalling the change of guard.

Admiral Karambir will be the 24^th CNS to head Indian Navy. He is the first helicopter pilot of the Indian Navy to become the CNS. He has been serving the Indian Navy for close to four decades now.

Prior to this top Indian Navy posting, Admiral Karambir was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command (ENC), situated in Visakhapatnam.

The government had appointed the new Navy Chief in March this year by superseding Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, who heads Tri-Services Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Vice Admiral Verma, the senior-most naval commander, had moved the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) challenging the government’s decision to overlook his seniority.

However, the AFT cleared the taking over of Admiral Karambir on May 31 as Navy chief and posted the hearing on the petition to July 17.

He has commanded Indian Coast Guard Ship Chandbibi, Missile Corvette INS Vijaydurg as well as two Guided Missile Destroyers INS Rana and INS Delhi. He has also served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet.

Extensively flown helicopters

A native of Jalandhar Punjab and graduated from Barnes School, Deolali Maharashtra before joining the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.

He was commissioned into the Indian Navy in July 1980 and later earned his wings as a helicopter pilot in 1982. He has extensively flown the Chetak and the Kamov helicopters.

He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington; College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and has later served as Directing Staff in both these Institutions.

On shore duties, Admiral Singh has served at Naval Headquarters as the Joint Director Naval Air Staff, and as Captain Air and Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Air Station at Mumbai.

He has also served as a member of the Aircrew Instrument Rating and Categorisation Board (AIRCATS). On promotion to flag rank, he was appointed as Chief of Staff, ENC.

He has also served as the Chief of Staff of the Tri-Services Command at Andaman & Nicobar Islands and as the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG).

He has also been the Director General Project Seabird, in-charge of infrastructure development of the Navy’s modern base at Karwar in Karnataka.

He was also assigned higher responsibilities as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Vice Chief of the Naval Staff at IHQ MoD (Navy) and as FOC-in-C, ENC, since October 31, 2017.

He is the recipient of the Param Vishist Seva Medial and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

Lanba’s key contributions

The outgoing CNS Admiral Sunil Lanba served the Indian Navy for over four decades and was responsible for several transitions in operational, training and organisational philosophy of the Indian Navy.

The Mission Based Deployments introduced in June 2017 transformed the operational philosophy to deploying mission-ready ships and aircraft along critical sea lanes of communications and choke points.

The Mission Based Deployments enabled Indian Naval units to be the first responder in crisis situations and showcased Indian Navy as the main instrument in India becoming a Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean Region.

Navy says Admiral Lanba has also steered implementation of the new transition cycle which facilitated improvement of the overall readiness of ships and submarines in undertaking operational tasking and Mission Based Deployments.

This transition saw considerable improvement in combat efficiency and crew proficiency of ships, resulting in overall improvement of Op Logistics, spares management and forecasting refit planning and expenditure management.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative too got a major boost under Admiral Lanba’s tenure. Close to 49 ships and submarines are currently under construction in Indian shipyards, including the first indigenous aircraft carrier ‘Vikrant,’ at Cochin Ship Yard.