Kumar was commissioned into the
Indian Navy on 1 January 1983. He specialised in gunnery. His positions included gunnery officer (GO) of the
Rajput-class destroyer , the commissioning GO of and commissioning GO of the
Khukri-class corvette . He also served as executive officer (EXO) of
Veer-class corvette . As a
commanding officer, he commanded the Coast Guard Ship C-01, the missile boat , the missile
corvette , the , and . His fleet appointments include Fleet Gunnery Officer and Fleet Operations Officer of the
Western Fleet. His staff assignments include Command GO of the
Western Naval Command, and naval advisor to the
Government of Seychelles. He also served as the Training Commander of the gunnery school
INS Dronacharya. During the
second phase of the UN intervention in Somalia, from December 1992 to June 1993, he served in the Civil and Military Operations Centre in
Mogadishu.
Flag rank On promotion to flag rank, Kumar was appointed the first Commandant of the
Naval War College, Goa in January 2012. After a two-year stint, he was appointed
Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) and was responsible for the operational sea training of all personnel of Naval and Coast Guard ships and submarines. On 1 October 2014, he took command of the
Western Fleet. While serving as the
Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF), he was promoted to the rank of
Vice Admiral. In October 2015, he relinquished command of the
Western Fleet, handing over to Rear Admiral
Ravneet Singh. For his command of the fleet, he was awarded the
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2016. He was then appointed Chief of the Staff (CoS) of the
Western Naval Command in Mumbai. During his tenure as CoS, the
International Fleet Review 2016 took place. He subsequently moved to Naval HQ as the Controller, Personnel Services (CPS). On 1 August 2018, he assumed charge as the
Chief of Personnel (COP), succeeding Vice Admiral
Anil Kumar Chawla. During his tenure as CISC, the
Department of Military Affairs was created by the
Government of India and the appointment of
Chief of Defence Staff was created. For his tenure as CISC, he was awarded the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2021. On 28 February 2021, he was appointed
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, taking over from Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P.
Chief of Naval Staff On 9 November 2021, the
Government of India appointed Kumar as the next
Chief of Naval Staff. He took office after superannuation of
Admiral Karambir Singh on 30 November 2021 and served there till 30 April 2024. ==Personal life==