Contrary to speculation, Western Command chief Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha is likely to be the new Navy chief as the Government is expected to go by the traditional seniority criteria in appointing the new chief.
The new chief is likely to be announced next week after Appointments Committee of Cabinet chaired by PM Manmohan Singh and comprising Defence Minister AK Antony clears the name.
The process of screening the names of contenders for the top job commenced soon after Admiral DK Joshi resigned on Wednesday owning moral responsibility for series of mishaps involving warships.
Faced with the sudden turn of events after Joshi’s resignation, the Government does not want to keep the post of the Navy chief vacant for long and started the selecting process on Saturday.