India appoints Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as new naval chief

NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral Karambir Singh has been appointed as the next chief of Indian Navy, succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba who is due to retire on May 30.

The change of command is taking place within a month of Indian attempt to intrude into Pakistani waters was foiled when a submarine was detected and stopped by the Pakistan Navy on March 04.

Another prominent development regarding this appointment is that New Delhi did not follow the tradition of appointing the senior most officer to the post.

Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command Vice Admiral Vimal Verma, who is senior to Singh, was among the contenders for the top post, Indian media reported.

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 stated.

Besides Verma, the other contenders for the post included Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, FOC-in-C of Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar and FOC-in-C of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla, the sources said.