Lt. Gen Narvane appointed vice chief of Army, likely to succeed General Rawat

New Delhi, July 23: Eastern Army Commander, Lt. General Manoj Mukund Narvane will be the next vice of Army staff.

He would replace, Lt. General D Anbu, who retires on August 31. This appointment indicates that he is likely to take over as the next Army chief after General Bipin Rawat retires on December 31 2019.

The current contenders for the top post in the Army are Lt General Narvane and Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, who is currently the chief of the Northern Command. The appointment of Lt. Gen Narvane as the vice chief is an indicator that he is likely to replace General Rawat.

Lt. Gen. Narvane was commissioned into the 7th Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry in June 1980. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy.

Lt. General Anil Chauhan will be the new General officer commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Command replacing Lt. Gen. Nirvana.

Commander of the 21 Strike Corps Lt. Gen. R P Singh has been appointed head of the Chandimandir-based Western Command, succeeding, Lt. Gen. Surinder Singh.

Director general military training Lt. Gen. A.S. Kler has appointed general officer commanding-in-chief of South-Western command (Jaipur).