Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, PVSM,

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Di ...

, NM (born 15 May 1964) is a serving four star

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. He is the current and the 26th Chief of the Naval Staff. He took over as the 26th CNS succeeding Admiral

R. Hari Kumar Admiral (India), Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar (born 12 April 1962) is a serving flag officer in the Indian Navy. He is the 25th and current Chief of Naval Staff (India), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). Previously, he served as the Flag ...

on 30 April 2024. He previously served as the 38th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He earlier served as the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the ...

, prior to that he served as the

Chief of Personnel Chief of Personnel may refer to: * Chief of Personnel (Indian Navy), of the Indian Navy * Chief of Defence People, earlier called ''Chief of Defence Personnel'', of the British Armed Forces * Chief of Military Personnel, of the Canadian Armed Fo ...

(COP) and as the Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO).

Early life and education

Tripathi is an alumnus of

Sainik School, Rewa Sainik School Rewa is one of the 28 Sainik Schools of India. It is a purely residential school for boys. The medium of instruction is English. Established by Government of India on 20 July 1962 at the sprawling estate known as Yuvraj Bhawan ...

. He joined Sainik School, Rewa in July 1973 where he was classmates with

Chief of Army Staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Upendra Dwivedi Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi AVSM is the present General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command of the Indian Army. He assumed the post upon the superannuation of Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi. Previously he serve ...

. He is also an alumnus of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

and the

Indian Naval Academy The Indian Naval Academy (INA or INA Ezhimala) is the defence service training establishment for officer cadre of the Indian Naval Service and the Indian Coast Guard, located in Ezhimala, Kannur district, Kerala. Situated between Ezhimala ...

Ezhimala Ezhimala, a hill reaching a height of , is located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, south India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, north of Kannur (Cannanore). The Indian Naval Ac ...

. He completed the staff course at the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – ( Indian Military Service, Indian Nav ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

where he won the Thimayya Medal, and the higher command course at the

College of Naval Warfare A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...

. He has also attended the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

when he was awarded the Robert E. Bateman International Prize.

Naval career

Admiral Tripathi was commissioned into the Executive branch of the

on 1 July 1985. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic warfare. In the early years of his career, he served as the Signals Communication officer and Electronic Warfare Officer of the

Guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a pri ...

, .He has commanded the Veer-class missile vessel and the Kora-class corvette . He was in command of the ''Kirch'' during the Review of the Fleet by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2005. He also served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

of the Delhi-class

. He subsequently commanded the Talwar-class

Guided missile frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

. In his staff appointments, Admiral Tripathi has served as the Fleet Operations Officer of the

Western Fleet The Red Sea Fleet Command or officially Western Fleet (WF), also called ''" West Coast Fleet ",'' is a regional naval fleet and one of the two main formations of the Saudi Arabian Navy, with headquarters at Royal Naval Base at Jeddah, Western P ...

and as the Director of Naval Operations. As a

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

, he served as the Principal Director Network Centric Operations and as the Principal Director Naval Plans, both at Naval HQ.

Flag rank

On promotion to Flag rank, he took over as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) at Naval HQ. He then assumed the office of

Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) is the title of the Indian Navy Officer who commands the Eastern Fleet, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The FOCEF is a Two Star Officer holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The Current FO ...

on 15 January 2018. For his command of the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, he was awarded the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Di ...

on 26 January 2019. On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral, on 12 June 2019 he took over as the

Commandant of Indian Naval Academy The Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy is the head and in-charge of all the functioning of the Indian Naval Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer holding the rank of Vice Admiral. He is supported by the Deputy ...

from Vice Admiral R. B. Pandit. Under him, the INA was

presented In medicine, a presentation is the appearance in a patient of illness or disease—or signs or symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for ...

with the President's Colour on 20 November 2019. On 13 August 2020, he assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) at Naval HQ. He served as the DGNO during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On 1 June 2021, he assumed the charge of

succeeding Vice Admiral

Ravneet Singh Ravneet Singh Bittu is an Indian politician. He previously served as the leader of Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha from 11 March 2021 to 18 July 2021. Bittu was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Ludhian ...

. After about 2 years as COP, he was appointed

. He took over from Vice Admiral

Ajendra Bahadur Singh Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC is a flag officer of the Indian Navy. He is currently the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Western Naval Command since 29 November 2021 succeeding Vice Admiral R. Hari Kuma ...

on 1 March 2023. On 4 January 2024, Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi took over as the 38th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff succeeding Vice Admiral

Sanjay Jasjit Singh Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, AVSM, NM is a serving flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. He previously served as the 37th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and ...

, who moved to

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the ...

as the

Chief of Naval Staff

On 19 April 2024, the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

appointed Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi as the next Chief of the Naval Staff. On 30 April 2024, Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi took over as the 26th Chief of the Naval Staff succeeding Admiral

, who superannuated after more than four decades of service to the nation.

Personal life

Tripathi is a keen sportsman and avidly follows tennis, badminton, and cricket. He is a student of International Relations, Military History, and the art and science of Leadership. He is married to Shashi Tripathi, an artist and homemaker. The couple have a son who is a practicing lawyer.

Awards and decorations

For his exemplary service, he has been awarded with the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) ( IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

on 26 January 2024 and the

on 26 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripathi, Dinesh K Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Indian Navy vice admirals Chiefs of Personnel (India) Commandants of the Indian Naval Academy Flag Officers Commanding Eastern Fleet Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Nau Sena Medal National Defence Academy (India) alumni Defence Services Staff College alumni Naval War College, Goa alumni Naval War College alumni