Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed next chief of naval staff: Government sources

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed next chief of naval staff, Government sources informed. The government made the selection following a merit-based approach and did not go with the tradition of appointing the senior-most eligible officer to the post, official sources said.

At present, Vice Admiral Singh is serving as the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, and he will take charge as Navy Chief on May 31, the defence ministry said. Before taking over as FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Command in October 2017, he also served as Deputy Chief as well as Vice Chief of Naval Staff.

In his career spanning over 37 years, the Admiral has commanded four ships -- Indian Coast Guard ship Chandbibi, missile corvette INS Vijaydurg, guided missile destroyers INS Rana and INS Delhi. Singh has also served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet.