M. M. Naravane

Early life and education General Naravane was born on 22 April 1960 in Poona, Bombay State, to Chitpavan Brahmin parents. His father Mukund Naravane was a former officer in the Indian Air Force who retired at the rank of wing commander, while his mother Sudha was an announcer with the All India Radio. He completed his schooling at the Jnana Prabodhini Prashala.

He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Pune and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He also holds a master's degree in Defence Studies from University of Madras, Chennai and an M.Phil. in Defence and Management Studies from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore and he is also pursuing PhD in defence and strategic studies from Punjabi University, Patiala. Naravane has attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Army War College, Mhow. He later commanded the 2nd Battalion (SikhLi) of Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the 106 Infantry Brigade. The general officer's staff assignments include tenures as a brigade major of an Infantry Brigade, Assistant Adjutant & Quartermaster General (AA&QMG) of Headquarters Establishment No. 22. He has also served as the Military attaché to Myanmar at Yangon.

In addition, he served in an instructional appointment at the Army War College, Mhow as Directing Staff in the Higher Command Wing and two tenures at the Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, New Delhi.

On promotion to the rank of Lieutenant general, he commanded the Ambala-based Kharga Strike Corps and served as the general officer commanding (GOC) Delhi Area. As GOC Delhi Area, he commanded the 2017 Republic Day Parade.

After being promoted to Army Commander grade, Gen Naravane served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command from 1 December 2017 to 30 September 2018. Later, he also served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command from 1 October 2018 to 31 August 2019, succeeding Lt Gen Abhay Krishna.

On 1 September 2019, he took over as Vice Chief of the Army Staff On 16 December 2019 — Vijay Diwas — he was announced as the successor of Rawat as COAS on 31 December 2019. Gen Naravane was the 3rd general from the Sikh Light Infantry to become Chief of the Army Staff; the others were Ved Prakash Malik, the 18th COAS, and Bikram Singh, the 25th COAS.

Personal life He is from Pune, Maharashtra. He paints, practices yoga, and gardens, his wife, Veena Naravane, is a teacher and former president of Army Wives Welfare Association. They have two daughters. His military thriller novel The Cantonment Conspiracy about two National Defence Academy officers investigating a case of assault and murder in a garrison was published in 2025.

Honours and decorations He has received the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (2019), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2017), Sena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal (2015), and the COAS commendation card for his service. He was also the Colonel of the Regiment of the Sikh Light Infantry.

Dates of rank