Lt. Gen. (retired) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik was sworn-in as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh in a simple ceremony at the Darbar Hall of Raj Bhawan in Itanagar.
Justice Nani Tagia, judge of Gauhati High Court administered the oath of office to Lt. Gen. Parnaik, who is the 20th Governor of the northeastern State.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his Cabinet colleagues, MLAs and high ranking civil and police officials were present at the swearing-in programme.
Lt. Gen. Parnaik replaced Brig (Retd) Dr. B.D. Mishra, who has been posted as Lt. Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Dr. Mishra had been the governor of the State on October 3, 2017.
Born on June 28, 1953, Lt. Gen. Parnaik had served as commander of the Army’s prestigious Northern Command.
He was commissioned into the Rajputana Rifles on March 31, 1972 and commanded its 2nd battalion in Rajasthan sector and in Jammu and Kashmir, a Raj Bhawan communique said.
On January 26, 2003, Lt. Gen. Parnaik was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal for his command of an infantry brigade during the 2001-2002 India–Pakistan standoff. He attended the National Defence College in 2004 as part of the 44th course.
Promoted to the rank of the major general, Lt. Gen. Parnaik was appointed as General Officer Commanding (GoC) of 17 Mountain Division in Sikkim. He later commanded the Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) in Bhutan. In 2009, Parnaik was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed GoC of IV Corps in Tezpur. After a year-long tenure, he moved to Army headquarter as the Director General Perspective Planning, it said.
For his tenure as GOC IV Corps, on January 26, 2010, Lt. Gen. Parnaik was awarded the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal.
On December 1, 2010, Lt. Gen. Parnaik was accorded the status of Army Commander and named the Commander-designate of the Northern Command. He took over from Lieutenant General B.S. Jaswal on January 1, 2011.
On January 26, 2012, Lt. Gen. Parnaik was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. After a two-and-a-half year stint as Northern Army Commander, he retired from the Army on June 30 in 2013.
