Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Karambir Singh,

PVSM 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 ...

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 Dis ...

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

(born 3 November 1959), is a former flag officer of

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 ...

, who served as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). The "Grey Eagle" (senior-most serving naval aviator) of the Navy, he replaced Admiral

Sunil Lanba Sunil (सुनील) is a first name for males, often found in the South Asian community. The Sanskrit word ' means "dark", "very blue", and is also an epithet of Krishna. Notable people * Sunil (actor), Indian Telugu film actor * Sunil (d ...

as the CNS after his retirement on 31 May 2019. Prior to his ascension, Admiral Singh served as the

Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) may refer to: *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India) *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan) * Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom) The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appoint ...

and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

Early life and education

Born on 3 November 1959 in

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, Admiral Singh is a second generation military officer. He attended the

Barnes School Barnes School, Deolali, is a boarding school in west India. It was established in 1925, on the basis of a 1718 original foundation. It is a private co-educational prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded in 1925, under the auspices o ...

Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian mi ...

, before joining the 56th course 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 ...

, where he was in the Hunter Squadron. He is an alumnus of the

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , presi ...

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 me ...

and the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai.

Career

He was commissioned into the

in July 1980 and earned his wings as a helicopter pilot in 1982. He has extensive experience with the

HAL Chetak HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

Kamov Ka-25 The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on n ...

and

Kamov Ka-28 The Kamov Ka-27 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-29 a ...

helicopters. Singh has commanded the Coast Guard ship ICGS ''Chand Bibi'', the corvette INS ''Vijaydurg'', and the guided missile destroyers INS ''Rana'' and INS ''Delhi''. He also 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 Pr ...

. Ashore, he served at Naval Headquarters as the Joint Director Naval Air Staff, and as Captain Air and Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Air Station at Mumbai. He was also a member of the Aircrew Instrument Rating and Categorisation Board (AIRCATS).

Flag rank

On promotion to flag rank, Singh was appointed as the Chief of Staff,

. His other important flag appointments include Chief of Staff of the Tri-Services Unified Command at Andaman & Nicobar Islands and as the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG). As the Director General of

Project Seabird INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka. The first phase of construction of the base, code-named ''Project Seabird'', was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 3 ...

, he stewarded the development of the Navy's new base at Karwar. He went on serve as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, following which he was appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff. He assumed office of the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

on 31 October 2017, succeeding Vice Admiral Harish Bisht. In a career spanning close to 39 years, he has been awarded the

Param Vishist 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 ...

and the

Ati Vishist 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 Dis ...

. On 23 March 2019, 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, c ...

named him Chief of Naval Staff, superseding Vice Admiral Bimal Verma. He is the first helicopter pilot to have served as Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy. He superannuated on 30 November 2021, and was succeeded as Chief of Naval Staff by Vice Admiral

R. Hari Kumar 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 the Naval Staff (CNS). Previously, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Co ...

Bi-lateral visits as CNS

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Karambir Living people Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Indian Navy admirals Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal 1959 births National Defence Academy (India) alumni Indian naval aviators Defence Services Staff College alumni