New Indian Navy chief

Admiral Joshi is New Indian Navy Chief

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, an anti-submarine warfare specialist
took over as the new Indian Navy chief.
He succeeds Admiral Nirmal Verma, who retired from service after 43
years of service.
Admiral Joshi, who was till Thursday the Mumbai-based Western Naval
Commander, is the 21st navy chief of Independent India and the 19th
Indian to take command of the world's sixth largest naval force.

In the morning, Admiral Joshi paid tribute to the country's martyrs by
laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in India Gate and inspected an
impressive Guard of Honour at the lawns of South Block, the seat of
the naval headquarters on Raisina Hill.

Later, in the office of the navy chief, Admiral Verma ceremonially
handed over the chief's telescope to Admiral Joshi to mark the handing
over of office from the incumbent to the successor.

In his maiden message to the navy, Admiral Joshi indicated his
priorities as the new chief. "For the navy to fulfil its mandate as a
maritime power for national prosperity, 24x7 attention would need to
be paid at all levels to ensure that there are no gaps in our security
preparedness," Joshi said.

He emphasised: "To achieve security related objectives, the
man-machine interface is crucial and the navy would need to
professionally re-audit, train and consolidate its preparedness to
optimise the existing capabilities as well as harness the full
potential of the transformational new capabilities being inducted."In
his 38-year service till now, Admiral Joshi has commanded guided
missile corvette INS Kuthar, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir and
India's lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

He has also been awarded the Nausena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal and
Yudh Seva Medal, respectively, while commanding these warships.
Subsequently, he commanded the Eastern Fleet, when Ati Vishist Seva
Medal was awarded to him.

Admiral Joshi has also commanded the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the
only tri-service integrated formation of the country and was awarded
the Param Vishist Seva Medal during this time.

Later, he served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman,
Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).

Admiral Joshi is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, an alumnus
of the Mumbai-based College of Naval Warfare and the capital-based
National Defence College. He was also the defence advisor in the
Indian high commission in Singapore from 1996 to 1999.

He is married to Chitra Joshi and the couple has two daughters.