The government has appointed Admiral Dinesh Tripathi as the next chief of the Indian Navy. Having held many important assignments in his vast career spanning nearly 40 years, Tripathi is currently the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and will assume his new office on April 30.
Before assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Tripathi served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command.
An alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1985.
A communications and electronic warfare expert, Tripathi served as Signal Communications Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer on frontline warships of the Navy and later as 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, including Fleet Operations Officer, Western Fleet in Mumbai, Director of Naval Operations, Principal Director of Network Centric Operations and Principal Director of Naval Plans in New Delhi.
After promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, he served as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at Naval Headquarters and Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.
On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral in June 2019, the Flag Officer was appointed as the 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 saw a high tempo of naval maritime operations.
He ensured that the Navy remains a ‘combat-ready, credible, cohesive and future-proof force, prepared to address multiple complex security challenges despite the all-round gravity 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 the Defense Services Staff College, Wellington, where he was awarded the Thimayya Medal. He also attended the Naval Higher Command Course and the Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island in 2007–08, where he won the prestigious Robert E. Bateman International Award.
Admiral Tripathi is also a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Navy Medal for his devotion to duty.
He is a keen sportsman and watches tennis, badminton and cricket avidly. The flag officer is a student of the art and science of international relations, military history, and leadership.
He is married to Shashi Tripathi, an artist and housewife. The couple has a son, a lawyer by profession, who is married to Tanya, who works in the policy-making sector.