Devendra Kumar Joshi

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM,NM
14th Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 October 2017
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Jagdish Mukhi
21st Chief of the Naval Staff
In office 31 August 2012 – 26 February 2014
Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
Preceded by	Nirmal Kumar Verma
Succeeded by	Robin K. Dhowan
Personal details
Born	(1954-07-04) 4 July 1954 Almora, Uttarakhand, India
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Yudh Seva Medal Nausena Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Navy
Years of service	1974–2014
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Western Naval Command Andaman and Nicobar Command Eastern Fleet INS Viraat INS Ranvir INS Kuthar

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, NM (born 4 July 1954) is the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Vice Chairman of Islands Development Agency (IDA). He was an Admiral in the Indian Navy and served as the 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, having assumed office on 31 August 2012. He is a specialist in anti-submarine warfare. He resigned on 26 February 2014, taking responsibility for a series of accidents, thus becoming the first Indian Navy Chief to resign.

Admiral Joshi has joined the Uttarakhand War Memorial as one of its patron in May 2020. Subsequently, paying homage to brave sons/daughters of Uttarakhand in security of the nation and furthering the cause of the Uttarakhand War Memorial Trust, he has also contributed all his current and future annuities (for gallantry awards/decorations) towards the trust in July, 2020.

Early life

Devendra Kumar Joshi was born to Hira Ballabh Joshi, an Indian Forest Service Officer and Hansa Joshi on July 4, 1954. After completing his early education in various schools wherever his father was posted, he moved to Hansraj College of the University of Delhi. While studying in Delhi, he was selected into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy in January 1972 and was subsequently commissioned in 1974.

In an interview with Doordarshan, when asked why he had chosen to join the Navy, he replied, "I think it was the lure of the seas, the pull of the unknown...we belong to the hills. Of the land, the hilly terrains, one had seen enough!" As he also said in the same interview, "from both my father's side and my mother's side, for seven generations nobody had been in the Services. Therefore, they [my parents] had not even thought of the Armed Forces as a career option for me. However, once I had made up my mind, they were fully supportive".

Military career

Indian Navy Vice Admiral D. K. Joshi (right) as the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command

Admiral D. K. Joshi CNS Designate being welcomed by Outgoing CNS Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma for a ceremonial Parade at South Block, New Delhi

Joshi graduated from the Indian Naval Academy and was commissioned into the executive branch of the Indian Navy on April 1, 1974. He is also an alumnus of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, the College of Naval Warfare, Goa, and the National Defence College, New Delhi.

Chief of Naval Staff

Subsequently, Joshi was elevated as the 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, having assumed office on 31 August 2012.

Admiral D. K. Joshi (centre) with the then Defence Minister A. K. Antony and the then Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma (extreme-left).

Admiral Joshi resigned following a fire aboard Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuratna on 26 February 2014. The Times of India wrote that Admiral D. K. Joshi, who was to serve as the Navy Chief till August 2015, "was a hard taskmaster who always ran tight ships. He was unforgiving as a commanding officer wherever he served, tightening screws wherever he went." Many naval officers felt that he had lived up to his own exacting standards by resigning.

Islands Development Agency

The Islands Development Agency (IDA) was constituted on 1 June 2017 under the Chairmanship of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and Admiral D. K. Joshi was designated as its Vice-Chairman, following the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's review meeting on the development of Indian Islands Territories. The major mandate of the Islands Development Agency includes guiding the policies, programmes and formulation of Integrated Master Plans for Comprehensive Development of the Islands. Islands Development Agency, with support of the NITI Aayog, is undertaking the holistic development of the Islands territories of India, while giving due consideration to their unique maritime and territorial bio-diversity.

The fourth IDA Review Meeting taken by the Prime Minister of India on 30 June 2018, with Chairman IDA Hon’ble Home Minister and Vice-Chairman Admiral D. K. Joshi present.

The first IDA Meeting held on 24 July 2017. IDA has so far met six times since its constitution, with the fourth review meeting held on 30 June 2018, being Chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India himself. With the re-constitution of Islands Development Agency, the Government of India has been fast-tracking the holistic development its Islands territories.

Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Admiral D. K. Joshi (Retd.), the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Joshi took oath on 8 October 2017 as the fourteenth Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a territory which is the largest archipelago system in the Bay of Bengal, composed of 836 islands, islets and rocks. He concurrently remains designated as Vice-Chairman Islands Development Agency also.

Awards

Param Vishisht Seva Medal	Ati Vishisht Seva Medal	Yudh Seva Medal	Nausena Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal	Paschimi Star	Operation Vijay Star	Sangram Medal
Operation Vijay Medal	Operation Parakram Medal	Sainya Seva Medal	50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
25th Anniversary of Independence Medal	30 Years Long Service Medal	20 Years Long Service Medal	9 Years Long Service Medal

References

Military offices
Preceded by Nirmal Kumar Verma	Chief of the Naval Staff 2012 to 2014	Succeeded by RK Dhowan
Preceded by Sanjeev Bhasin	FOC - in - C Western Naval Command 2011 to 2012	Succeeded by Shekhar Sinha
Preceded by Air Marshal S C Mukul	Chief of Integrated Defence Staff 2010 to 2011	Succeeded by VAdm Shekhar Sinha
Preceded by Vijay Shankar	Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command 2009 to 2010	Succeeded by Lt Gen N C Marwah
Preceded by Sanjeev Bhasin	Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet 2006 to 2007	Succeeded by Robin K. Dhowan
Preceded by R F Contractor	Commanding Officer INS Viraat 2001 to 2003	Succeeded by Anil Chopra
Government offices
Preceded by Jagdish Mukhi	Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar 8 October 2017 - Present	Succeeded by Incumbent