Vice Admiral Madhvendra Singh will take over as next Chief of Naval Staff. The taking-over ceremony will take place on December 29. He is presently appointed as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff.

Admiral Madhvendra Singh is the son of late Maj Gen K Bhagwati Singh who was the first cadet to pass out of the Indian Military Academy. He hails from Chomu in Jaipur district of Rajasthan. After his schooling at St Xavier High School, Jaipur, he joined the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla in July 1958 and was commissioned into the Navy on January 1, 1963. As a cadet on board INS Krishna, he was awarded the binocular for standing first in the overall order of merit and the telescope for being the best all-round cadet. Later, he was also awarded the coveted Sword of Honour on being adjudged the best all-round Midshipman of the Fleet.

He specialised in gunnery and has also attended the Advanced Gunnery Course at the Royal Military College of Science, Shirivenham, United Kingdom. He is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and a postgraduate of the Naval War College, Newport, USA and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

He has commanded the missile frigate, Talwar, the Naval Academy at Kochi, the missile destroyer Ranvir and the aircraft carrier, Viraat, besides holding important staff and training appointments, both afloat and ashore.

As a Flag Officer, he has served as Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command, the Chief Instructor (Navy) at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and as the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Fleet, prior to taking over as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans) at Naval Headquarters in June 1994. On promotion as Vice Admiral on
January 2, 1995 he took over as Controller Warship Production and Acquisition at Naval Headquarters and, later, took over as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. He was appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command on October 23, 1996 and took over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command in Mumbai on March 31, 1998. He was appointed as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff on April 3, this year.

Vice Admiral Madhvendra Singh has twice been commended by the Chief of the Naval Staff and is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service of a very high order. He took part in the liberation of Goa in December 1961 and in maritime operations in 1965 and 1971, as also in operation Pawan in Sri Lanka in 1987. During the Kargil war in 1999, he was commanding the Western Maritime Theatre.

The Admiral is very fond of outdoor games and enjoys golf, yachting, riding and skeet shooting. An enthusiastic environmentalist, he is keen on preserving maritime heritage and history. The Admiral is married to Mrs Kaumudi Kumari who is a special educator and has worked in schools run by the Spastic Society of India.