Vice Admiral R K Dhowan may be the next Navy chief as the Defence Ministry has recommended his name to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the post which has been lying vacant for nearly two months since D K Joshi quit suddenly in the wake of a series of mishaps.
Dhowan, who has been the acting navy chief since Joshi's exit, was in contention for the top job along with Western Navy Commander Shekhar Sinha and Eastern Commander Anil Chopra.
Vice Admiral Sinha is the seniormost among the three but he has been edged out of the race, apparently because majority of the 14 mishaps, including two major submarine accidents, took place under his command during the last 10 months.
"The defence ministry has recommended the name of Acting chief Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan for the appointment and the Prime Minister's Office will go through the file before taking a final decision on the matter," top government sources said here.
VICE ADMIRAL RK DHOWAN, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC
Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC is currently the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. A Navigation and Direction Specialist, Vice Admiral Dhowan is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (45th Course, Charlie Squadron) and the Defence Services Staff College. On completion of three years of training in NDA, he joined his first ship, INS Delhi in 1974 where he was awarded the ‘telescope’ on being adjudged as Best Cadet. He was later awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ on completion of Midshipman training. He has undergone various courses in India and abroad including the Sea Harrier Direction course at Yeovilton, UK and the Naval Command Course at Naval War College, Rhode Island, USA.
The Vice Admiral has held various important staff appointments at Naval Headquarters, which include Deputy Director Naval Operations, Joint Director Naval Plans, Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy and Plans)and as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy). He has also served as the Senior Instructor at DSSC Wellington. Ships commanded by him include INS Khukri, a missile corvette, INS Ranjit, a Kashin class destroyer, and the missile destroyer INS Delhi. He served as the Indian Naval Adviser at the High Commission of India, London from March 2000 to 2003 and as Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Headquarters Western Naval Command (Mumbai) from 31 Jan 2004 to 17 Jul 2005.
The Vice Admiral had the privilege to command the Eastern Fleet as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, one of the two operational fleet of the Indian Navy and subsequently took over as Chief Of Staff at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. This was followed by the prestigious appointment of the Commandant National Defence Academy, a post that he held till 30 Nov 09 before taking over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff at IHQ, MOD(Navy), the post he held till 30 Aug 11. His leisure pursuits include Golf and Yachting.
Dhowan, who has been the acting navy chief since Joshi's exit, was in contention for the top job along with Western Navy Commander Shekhar Sinha and Eastern Commander Anil Chopra.
Vice Admiral Sinha is the seniormost among the three but he has been edged out of the race, apparently because majority of the 14 mishaps, including two major submarine accidents, took place under his command during the last 10 months.
"The defence ministry has recommended the name of Acting chief Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan for the appointment and the Prime Minister's Office will go through the file before taking a final decision on the matter," top government sources said here.
VICE ADMIRAL RK DHOWAN, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC
Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC is currently the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. A Navigation and Direction Specialist, Vice Admiral Dhowan is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (45th Course, Charlie Squadron) and the Defence Services Staff College. On completion of three years of training in NDA, he joined his first ship, INS Delhi in 1974 where he was awarded the ‘telescope’ on being adjudged as Best Cadet. He was later awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ on completion of Midshipman training. He has undergone various courses in India and abroad including the Sea Harrier Direction course at Yeovilton, UK and the Naval Command Course at Naval War College, Rhode Island, USA.
The Vice Admiral has held various important staff appointments at Naval Headquarters, which include Deputy Director Naval Operations, Joint Director Naval Plans, Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy and Plans)and as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy). He has also served as the Senior Instructor at DSSC Wellington. Ships commanded by him include INS Khukri, a missile corvette, INS Ranjit, a Kashin class destroyer, and the missile destroyer INS Delhi. He served as the Indian Naval Adviser at the High Commission of India, London from March 2000 to 2003 and as Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Headquarters Western Naval Command (Mumbai) from 31 Jan 2004 to 17 Jul 2005.
The Vice Admiral had the privilege to command the Eastern Fleet as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, one of the two operational fleet of the Indian Navy and subsequently took over as Chief Of Staff at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. This was followed by the prestigious appointment of the Commandant National Defence Academy, a post that he held till 30 Nov 09 before taking over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff at IHQ, MOD(Navy), the post he held till 30 Aug 11. His leisure pursuits include Golf and Yachting.
