Admiral Dinesh Tripathi appointed next Indian Navy chief

Admiral Dinesh Tripathi appointed next Indian Navy chief

The government has appointed Admiral Dinesh Tripathi as the next chief of the Indian Navy. Tripathi is presently the vice-chief of navy staff after having done multiple important assignments in his around 40-year vast career and will assume his new office on April 30.

Before taking over as vice-chief of the naval staff, Tripathi served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, of Western Naval Command.

An alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1985.

A Communication and Electronic Warfare specialist, Tripathi served on frontline warships of the Navy as a Signal Communication Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer, and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer INS Mumbai.

He commanded the Indian Naval Ships Vinash, Kirch and Trishul. He has also held various important operational and staff appointments, which include Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet at Mumbai, Director of Naval Operations, Principal Director Network Centric Operations and Principal Director of Naval Plans at New Delhi.

Upon his promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, he served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at the Navy headquarters and as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.

On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral in June 2019, the Flag Officer was appointed as Commandant of the prestigious Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala. He was the Director General of Naval Operations from July 2020 to May 2021, a period that witnessed a high tempo of Naval Maritime Operations.

He ensured that the Navy remained a ‘Combat Ready, Credible, Cohesive and Future Proof Force, ready to address a host of complex security challenges despite the all-round severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, from June 2021 to February 2023, the Flag Officer served as the Chief of Personnel.

Tripathi is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimmaiya Medal. He also attended the Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 2007-08, where he won the prestigious Robert E Bateman International Prize.

Admiral Tripathi is also a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Nausena Medal for devotion to duty.

He is a keen sportsman and avidly follows tennis, badminton, and cricket. The Flag Officer is a student of international relations, military history and the art and science of leadership.

He is married to Shashi Tripathi, an artist and homemaker. The couple has a son, a practising lawyer, who is married to Tanya, who works in the policy-making domain.