Lieutenant GeneralK. T. ParnaikPVSM,UYSM,YSM (born 28 June 1953) is a retired general officer of theIndian Army who is serving asGovernor of Arunachal Pradesh.[2][3][4] He is the first person fromMaharashtra who take over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief ofNorthern Command.[5]
Parnaik studied at theSt. Aloysius Senior Secondary School, along with his brother A. T. Parnaik, also alieutenant general, who retired as Director General Border Roads.[6] Later He joinedSainik School, Rewa andNational Defence Academy. He was commissioned into the2nd Rajputana Rifles on 31 March 1972 from theIndian Military Academy. He attended theDefence Services Staff College,Wellington. He commanded the 2nd battalion, The Rajputana Rifles (2 RajRif) in the Rajasthan Sector and in Jammu and Kashmir. He also attended the Senior Command and the Higher Command Course.[7]
On 26 January 2003, Parnaik was awarded theYudh Seva Medal for his command of an infantry brigade during the2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff. He attended theNational Defence College in 2004 as part of the 44th course.[8][9]
Promoted to the rank ofMajor General, Parnaik was appointedGeneral officer commanding17 Mountain Division inSikkim.[10] He later commanded theIndian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) inBhutan.[11] In 2009, Parnaik was promoted to the rank ofLieutenant General and appointed General officer commandingIV Corps inTezpur. After a year-long tenure as GOC IV Corps, he moved to Army HQ as the Director General Perspective Planning - DG (PP). For his tenure as GOC IV Corps, on 26 January 2010, Parnaik was awarded theUttam Yudh Seva Medal.[12]
On 1 December 2010, Parnaik was accorded the status of Army Commander and named the Commander-designate of theNorthern Command. He took over from Lieutenant General B. S. Jaswal on 1 January 2011.[13] On 26 January 2012, he was awarded theParam Vishisht Seva Medal.[14] After a two-and-a-half year stint as Northern Army Commander, he retired from the Army on 30 June 2013.[15]
Parnaik was appointed Governor byDroupadi Murmu,President of India on 12 February 2023.[16] He was congratulated byPema Khandu,Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh,[17]Chowna Mein,Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh[18] andYogi Adityanath,Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for becoming Governor.[19]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by B. S. Jaswal | General Officer CommandingIV Corps 2009-2010 | Succeeded by Gyan Bhushan |
| General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command 2011-2013 | Succeeded by Sanjiv Chachra | |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Arunachal Pradesh 16 February 2023 - Present | Incumbent |
