Government names next navy chief, superseding one admiral

Admiral Karambir Singh will be first helicopter pilot to head navy

Setting aside the principle of seniority, the government on Saturday named Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next chief of naval staff (CNS). The current CNS, Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is due to retire on May 31, will hand over charge to Singh on that day.

Singh, from the 1980 batch, will supersede Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, the current Commander in Chief Andaman & Nicobar (CINCAN), who was commissioned in 1979. Verma is the younger brother of Admiral Nirmal Verma, who was CNS from 2009-12.

With the chief of army staff General Bipin Rawat having superseded two of his seniors while being