R. Hari Kumar

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Vice Chief of Defence Staff
In office
4 January 2020 (2020-01-04) – 28 February 2021 (2021-02-28)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAtul Kumar Jain
Personal details
Born (1962-04-12) 12 April 1962 (age 61)
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Spouse
Kala Nair
(m. 1989)
Children1
Awards Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Navy
Years of service1 January 1983 – 30 April 2024
Rank Admiral
Commands
Service number02540-Y[2]

.

Early life and education

Kumar was born on 12 April 1962 in Thiruvananthapuram, to M. Radhakrishnan Nair and B. Vijayalakshmi. His father worked with the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore in the sales department.[8]

Kumar was educated at Sacred Hearts Convent School, Thanjavur, Carmel Convent School, Thiruvananthapuram, and at Mannam Memorial Residential High School, Thiruvananthapuram. He completed his pre-degree course at the Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram.

He joined the 61st course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) in January 1979 and was assigned to the Juliet squadron. He graduated from the NDA in December 1981.[7][8] In 1996, he attended the Naval Staff Course at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.[8] He attended the Army Higher Command Course at the Army War College, Mhow in 2004 and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London in 2009.[7]

He holds a

Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai.[7] He also holds a postgraduate diploma in shipping management from the Narottam Morarjee Institute of Shipping in Mumbai.[8]

Career

Kumar was commissioned into the

INS Vipul
.

As a

INS Viraat.[7][8] He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for his command of the Ranvir when the mid-life upgrade was completed in which the ship was retrofitted with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.[9]

His fleet appointments include Fleet Gunnery Officer and Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet. His staff assignments include Command GO of the Western Naval Command, and naval advisor to the Government of Seychelles. He also served as the Training Commander of the gunnery school INS Dronacharya. During the second phase of the UN intervention in Somalia, from December 1992 to June 1993, he served in the Civil and Military Operations Centre in Mogadishu.

Flag rank

On promotion to flag rank, Kumar was appointed the first Commandant of the

Vice Admiral.[10][11][12]

In October 2015, he relinquished command of the Western Fleet, handing over to Rear Admiral

Chief of Personnel (COP), succeeding Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.[8]

After an 18-month tenure as COP, Kumar was promoted to Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) grade and appointed

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, taking over from Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P.[17]

Chief of Naval Staff

On 9 November 2021, the Government of India appointed Kumar as the next Chief of Naval Staff. He took office after superannuation of Admiral Karambir Singh on 30 November 2021.[1]

Personal life

Kumar is married to Kala Nair, with whom he has a daughter. He enjoys swimming, playing badminton, and walking.[18]

Awards and decorations

During his career, he has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 2010, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2016 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2021 for his service.[2][7][8][19][20][16]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva Medal
Operation Vijay Star Operation Vijay Medal Sainya Seva Medal Videsh Seva Medal
75th Anniversary of Independence Medal
50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal
20 Years Long Service Medal
9 Years Long Service Medal
UNOSOM II Medal

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b "ADMIRAL R HARI KUMAR, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC ASSUMES COMMAND OF THE INDIAN NAVY AS 25th CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF". PIB. 30 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "365 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar takes charge as Western Naval Command Chief". Times Of India. 28 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Admiral Hari Kumar takes charge as new Navy chief". Deccan Herald. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM takes over as Flag Officer Commanding-In-Chief Western Naval Command". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  6. ^ @HQ_IDS_India (2 December 2019). "V Adm R Hari Kumar, AVSM, VSM assumed the Appt of CISC on 02 Dec 19" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Chief of Personnel (COP)". Indian Navy. Indian Navy. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, AVSM VSM Assumes Charge as Chief of Personnel". Indian Navy. Indian Navy. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Helmsman of India's blue water ambitions". The New Indian Express.
  10. ^ "Appointments". Pressreader. SP's NavalForces. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Navy appoints new fleet commanders". The Hindu. S. Anandan. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  12. The Times Of India
    . Rajat Pandit. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Medal Winners". indiannavy.nic.in.
  14. ^ Singh, Ashish (2 March 2021). "VICE ADMIRAL R. HARI KUMAR TAKES OVER AS WESTERN NAVAL COMMAND CHIEF". The Daily Guardian.
  15. ^ @HQ_IDS_India (2 December 2019). "V Adm R Hari Kumar, AVSM, VSM assumed the Appt of CISC on 02 Dec 19" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ a b "President Shri Ram Nath Kovind approves 455 Gallantry & other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". PIB. 25 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM takes over as Flag Officer Commanding-In-Chief Western Naval Command". pib.gov.in.
  18. ^ "Chief of Naval Staff (CNS)". Indian Navy. Indian Navy. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Republic Day Gallantry and other Defence Decorations". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  20. ^ "Distinguished Service and Gallantry Award Winners on Republic Day 2021". pib.gov.in.
Military offices
Preceded by Commanding Officer INS Viraat
6 August 2010 - 5 November 2011
Succeeded by
New title
Appointment created
Commandant Naval War College, Goa
2012 - 2013
Succeeded by
Monty Khanna
Preceded by Flag Officer Sea Training
2013 - 2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet
2014 - 2015
Succeeded by
Ravneet Singh
Chief of Personnel

2018 - 2019
Preceded by
P S Rajeshwar
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
2019 - 2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command

28 February 2021 - 29 November 2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of Naval Staff
30 November 2021 - Present
Incumbent