Ajit Kumar P | |
---|---|
Born | Ernakulam, Kerala, India [1] |
Allegiance | India |
Service/ | Indian Navy |
Years of service | 1 June 1981 – 28 February 2021 |
Rank | Vice Admiral |
Commands | |
Awards | Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal |
Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC is a retired Indian Navy Admiral. He served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command. He assumed the position on 31 January 2019 after Vice Admiral Girish Luthra's retirement and superannuated on 28 February 2021. [2] Prior to this appointment, he served as Vice Chief of Naval Staff. [3] [4]
He is an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakootam, Kerala and National Defence Academy, Pune. He has also attended the Naval Higher Command Course and the Naval War College, Newport (2004). [5] [6] [7]
He was commissioned in the navy on 1 July 1981. He is a missile and gunnery specialist. He has commanded six ships including INS Kulish; INS Talwar; INS Mumbai and INS Mysore. He was deputed to the Mauritian Coast Guard on his first assignment where, over two and a half years, he commanded two patrol vessels. His staff assignments include Director Maritime Warfare Centre, Visakhapatnam; Commanding Officer of INS Dronacharya; Chief Staff Officer (Operations) of the Western Naval Command. [7] [8]
In September 2009, he was promoted to flag rank as a Rear Admiral. Subsequently, his assignments included Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resources Development) at IHQ of MoD; Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) and Chief of Staff of Southern Naval Command. He was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral on 1 December 2013. As a Vice Admiral, he has served as the Commandant of Indian Naval Academy (December 2013 to February 2016). During his tenure as the commandant, there was expansion of the academy and different naval schools across the country were shifted to the main campus at Ezhimala. He has also served as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) and as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Policy Planning & Force Development) at the HQ of MoD. [9] [10]
He was appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff on 30 October 2017, succeeding Vice Admiral Karambir Singh. [8] [7] [11]
During his career, he has been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal for his service. [8] [12]
He and his wife Sunita Kumar have a daughter. He is interested in reading and yoga. [7]
Admiral Jayant Ganpat "Podgy" Nadkarni, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 12th Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy from 1 December 1987 to 30 November 1990.
Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani, PVSM, AVSM, NM was a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from 1987 to 1989. Prior to that, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. He was the Commissioning Commanding Officer of the INS Rajput (D51), the lead vessel of the Rajput class destroyers. He was awarded the Nausena Medal for gallantry during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Vice Admiral P Murugesan is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) from March 2015 to May 2016.
Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC is a retired officer of Indian Navy who served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Western Naval Command from 1 June 2016 to 30 January 2019. He took over the position from Admiral Sunil Lanba who was promoted to Chief of Naval Staff, and was succeeded by Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar.
Abhay Raghunath Karve PVSM, AVSM is a retired Indian Navy Vice Admiral. He last served as the 27th Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. He retired on 30 July 2018 and was succeeded by Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla.
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC is a former flag officer of the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Western Naval Command from 29 November 2021 succeeding Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar on his elevation. Previously, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. He assumed the position on 1 March 2021 after the appointment of Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain as the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He was the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and served Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command prior to this appointment.
Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar is retired flag officer in the Indian Navy. He served as 25th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). Previously, he served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command. In his prior appointments, he served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, Chief of Personnel, Controller Personnel Services, the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Flag Officer Sea Training and the Chief of the Staff of the Western Naval Command. He was the Commandant of the Naval War College, Goa and served as a naval advisor to the government of Seychelles. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, the Naval War College, the Army War College, Mhow and the Royal College of Defence Studies.
Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He assumed office from Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar on 30 January 2019 and served till 31 May 2021 till his retirement. He is succeeded by Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh. Prior to this appointment, he served as chief of staff, Eastern Naval Command.
Vice Admiral G. Ashok Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a retired Flag Officer in the Indian Navy, who is currently appointed as the first National Maritime Security Coordinator. He works within the National Security Council Secretariat under the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. He served as the 35th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He assumed the position on 30 January 2019 from Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar who took over the Western Naval Command. He retired on 31 July 2021 after 39 years of service. He is succeeded by Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade.
Vice Admiral Ravindra Bhartruhari Pandit, PVSM, AVSM is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He last served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command. He assumed the position from Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar. He earlier served as the Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command, as Commandant of Indian Naval Academy and as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet.
Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff. He took over as the 39th Vice Chief of Naval staff on 1 May 2024. He previously served as Chief of Personnel. He earlier served as the Controller of Personnel Services, Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command, Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group (FODAG), Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF) and Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST). He was the second Commanding Officer of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
Vice Admiral Makarand Aravind Hampiholi, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command. Previously, he served as the Commandant of Indian Naval Academy and served as the Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) at Naval headquarters.
Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He assumed office from Vice Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar on 1 June 2021 following his retirement. Previously, he served as the Chief of Personnel (COP) and as the Director General of Project Seabird. He has also served as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet from October 2015 to October 2016.
Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a serving four star flag officer of the Indian Navy. He is the current and the 26th Chief of Naval Staff. He previously served as the 38th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He earlier served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, as the Chief of Personnel (COP) and as the Director General of Naval Operations (DGNO). On 19 April 2024, he was appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff succeeding Admiral R. Hari Kumar.
Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM is a retired officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command. He had earlier served as the Chief of Staff of ENC from 2020 to 2021, Controller of Personnel Services at Naval HQ from 2019 to 2020 and as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) from 2016 to 2018.
Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) at IDS HQ.
Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. He last served as the Director General Project Seabird. He earlier served as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor at the Indian Naval Academy from March 2019 to January 2021. He was the commissioning commanding Officer of the Kolkata-class guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata (D63).
Vice Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl, AVSM, VSM is a former officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy. He previously served as the Director General Project Seabird, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) in Mumbai and as the Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area (FOGA) and Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) in Goa.
Vice Admiral Atul Anand, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Additional Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs. He earlier served as the Director General Naval Operations, as Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the National Defence Academy.