India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi took over from Admiral Nirmal Verma on Friday, as the 21st Chief of Naval Staff. Admiral Joshi paid tribute to the country's martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti and inspected an impressive Guard of Honour at the lawns of South Block. In his maiden message to the Navy, he said he was "in gratitude for having been given the honour and privileged opportunity to command the Navy." Admiral Joshi indicated his priorities as the new Naval Chief, stating: "For the Navy to fulfil its mandate as a maritime power for national prosperity, 24 x 7 attention would need to be paid at all levels to ensure that there are no gaps in our security preparedness." He emphasised that "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 optimize the existing capabilities as well as harness the full potential of the transformational new capabilities being inducted. Admiral Joshi is a specialist in anti-submarine warfare. In his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 38 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. He has also commanded guided missile corvette INS Kuthar, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat. Admiral Joshi is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, USA, an alumnus of the College of Naval Warfare , Mumbai and the prestigious National Defence College , New Delhi.

Admiral Joshi takes over as new Navy Chief