General Manoj Mukund Naravane is an Indian Army General and the 27th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). Before COAS, he served as the 40th Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command, and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army Training Command.
During his career, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (2019), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2017), Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal (2015), and the CoAS commendation card for his service.
Following General Rawat's demise on December 8 in a chopper crash, the government appointed the 61-year-old as new Chief of Defence Staff a stop-gap arrangement.
Background
General MM Naravane was born on April 22, 1960 in Pune and is a son of a former officer in the Indian Air Force. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also has an M.Phil degree in defence studies.
He is married to Veena Naravane who is a teacher with 25 years of experience and heads the Army Wives Welfare Association.
In June 1980, Naravane was commissioned into the 7th Battalion The Sikh Light Infantry. He has commanded the 2nd Battalion (SikhLi) of Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the 106 Infantry brigade. Naravane has also commanded the Assam Rifles and has served in Counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and Northeast India.
After being promoted to Army Commander grade, Naravane served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command from December 2017 to September 30, 2018. Later, he succeeded Lt Gen Abhay Krishna and served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command from October 2018 to August 31, 2019.
On August 31, 2019, Lt Gen Devraj Anbu retired and Naravane was appointed VCOAS and became the senior-most serving general after General Bipin Rawat. On December 16, 2019, he was announced as the successor of General Rawat, who relinquished the office of COAS in December 2019.
Rank & Date of Appointment
June 7, 1982: Lieutenant
June 7, 1985: Captain
June 7, 1991: Major
December 31, 2002: Lieutenant Colonel
February 1, 2005: Colonel
July 19, 2010: Brigadier
January 1, 2013: Major General
November 10, 2015: Lieutenant General
December 31, 2019: General (COAS)
December 16, 2019: General (COSC)
