Change of guard in India’s top defence brass, General Kapoor takes over as chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee

ARMY chief General Deepak Kapoor took over as the chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC) from Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Monday while Admiral Nirmal Verma took over from Admiral Mehta as the 20th navy chief of Independent India. Admiral Verma is the 18th Indian to take command of the Indian Navy. Meanwhile, DK Dewan took over as Vice Admiral and Lt Gen RK Loomba, General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, became Director General Military Intelligence. Who is General Deepak Kapoor? New chairman of the COSC, General Kapoor (seen in picture), was commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1967 and took active part in 1971 Bangladesh operations. He also represented the country as the Chief Operations Officer for all United Nations Forces deployed in Somalia from 1994 to 1995. General Kapoor took over as the chief of Army Staff on September 30, 2007, and had played a pivotal role in modernisation of the Army in pursuit of making it one of the finest Armies in the world. Awards: Vishisht Seva Medal in Jan 1996, Sena Medal in Jan 1998, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in Jan 2006 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in Jan 2007. Who is Admiral Nirmal Verma? Admiral Nirmal Verma is a specialist in communication and electronic warfare. His nearly four decades of experience spans across various afloat and ashore appointments. His sea tenures include Commands of INS Udaygiri, a Leander Class Frigate; INS Ranvir, a Kashin Class Destroyer; and the Aircraft Carrier, INS Viraat. Global experiences: As part of crew for the first Kashin Class Destroyer inducted into the Indian Navy in 1980, he was trained in the former Soviet Union. He attended professional mid and senior level courses at the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich, UK and the Naval Command Course at the US Naval War College, Rhode Island respectively. Awards: Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and honorary Aide-de-Camp to the President of India. Who is Vice Admiral DK Dewan? Vice Admiral DK Dewan, who took over as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff on Monday, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune and was commissioned in the Indian Navy on July 1, 1973. He is a graduate of the Joint Staff Course, Paris, the Naval Higher Command Course and the Royal College of Defence Studies, London. Who is Lt Gen RK Loomba? The new Director General of Military Intelligence is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakswala. He was commissioned into the Skinner’s Horse of Indian Army in June 1970. A graduate of Defence Officers Staff Course, Wellington, Higher Command at Army War College MHOW and National Defence College, he has held numerous important appointments at all levels including at the Army Headquarters. Read, "Know Your Babu: New defence secretary Pradeep Kumar" posted on July 15, 2009

In Brief Tax assistant exam results declared Staff Section Commission has announced the result of Tax Assistant (Income Tax & Central Excise) examination 2008 which was held in March 2009. Of the 80971 candidates who appeared for written test, 4689 candidates have qualified for the Skill Test in Data Entry Speed in Computer. The result will be available on the Commission website http://sscresult.nic.in IAS (In-Service) Training Under the present system of in-service training for IAS officers, every IAS officer is required to attend a 1-week training programme in a block of two years. The present is the 10th block which covers the period from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2010.