By IANS,
Kochi : Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande, chief of staff of the Southern Naval Command, has been appointed assistant chief of Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) in charge of financial planning at its New Delhi headquarters. He will take over his new assignment shortly.
Sources told India Strategic defence magazine (www.indiastrategic.in ) that several changes in the naval command are taking place now due to the retirement of Admiral Nirmal Verma August-end, and the movement of Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral D.K Joshi to New Delhi as the next Indian Navy chief. There is a chain of appointments and new assignments in the offing.
Admiral Verma has served with distinction for a full three-year term, the maximum permissible to a chief if he gets appointed by the age of 59.
The tri-services IDS was constituted in 2001 following the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee headed by noted defence analyst K. Subrahmaniam. IDS is headed in rotation by three-star officers from the army, navy and air foce, the current incumbent being Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha. His successor would be from the army.
Rear Admiral Shrikhande has served as the chief of staff of the Southern Naval Command since August 2010.
He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA) Pune, Naval War College St. Petersburg, Russia, Naval War College Newport, United States, and College of Naval Warfare Mumbai. The admiral’s important tenures at sea include commands of INS Nishank, INS Kora and missile ship INS Rajput and executive officer of INS Delhi.
He has also served as the defence adviser of India in Australia and New Zealand.