Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

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Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
Vice Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg
Flag of the Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan VCNS.jpg
since 1 May 2024
Naval Ensign of India.svg  Indian Navy
TypePrincipal Staff Officer
StatusVice Chief
AbbreviationVCNS
Reports to Chief of the Naval Staff
Seat Naval Headquarters, New Delhi
Formation11 May 1967
First holder Sourendra Nath Kohli

The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces, that is usually held by a three star vice admiral. The Vice Chief is the deputy of the Chief of the Naval Staff and is usually the second highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy. The current VCNS is Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan who took over from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on 1 May 2024.

Contents

History

At the time of independence of India on 15 August 1947, the Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy was the de facto Second-in-command. The appointment was held by an officer of the rank of Commodore. In 1949, the Chief of Staff was also made Deputy Commander-in-Chief RIN. [1] In 1955, the post was re-designated Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. [2] In 1959, the post was upgraded to Two-star rank. [3]

On 11 May 1967, the office was re-designated to Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, in line with the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. It was first held by Sourendra Nath Kohli. The appointment was then in the two-star rank of rear admiral. [4] On 12 December 1967, Nilakanta Krishnan succeeded Kohli as VCNS, with the office being raised to the three-star rank of Vice-Admiral in March 1969. [5]

Organisation

The VCNS heads the Staff Branch-I at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the VCNS. [6]

Order of precedence

The VCNS ranks at No. 23 on the Indian order of precedence, along with the Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force and the Army Commanders (GOC-in-C), Naval Commanders (FOC-in-C) and Air Commanders (AOC-in-C). [7] The VCNS is at the Apex Pay grade (Grade 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,200). [8]

Appointees

The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

S.No.NameAssumed officeLeft officeNotes
1 Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli 11 May 196711 December 1967Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [4]
2 Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan PVSM , DSC 12 December 1967 [n 1] 20 February 1970Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. [9] [10]
3 Vice Admiral Jal Cursetji PVSM 20 February 197026 February 1973Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [11]
4 Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath PVSM 31 March 197331 March 1977Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. [12]
5 Vice Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira AVSM 5 April 197728 February 1979Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [13]
6 Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash PVSM , MVC , AVSM 1 March 197931 March 1980Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. [14]
7 Vice Admiral M. R. Schunker PVSM , AVSM 1 April 19801 March 1982Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. [15]
8 Vice Admiral Sardari Lal Sethi AVSM , NM 1 March 198230 May 1983 [16] [17]
9 Vice Admiral Subimal Mookerjee AVSM 31 May 198329 April 1984 [18]
10 Vice Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani PVSM , AVSM 2 May 198427 November 1984Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [19]
11 Vice Admiral K. K. Nayyar PVSM , AVSM 28 November 198428 February 1986 [20]
12 Vice Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni PVSM , AVSM , NM , VSM 28 February 198630 November 1987Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [21] [22]
13 Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani PVSM , AVSM , NM 8 December 198728 February 1989 [23]
14 Vice Admiral S. C. Chopra PVSM , AVSM , NM 28 February 198930 June 1990Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. [24]
15 Vice Admiral H. Johnson PVSM , VSM 30 June 199031 December 1990 [25] [26]
16 Vice Admiral Suren P. Govil PVSM , AVSM 31 December 199031 October 1992 [27]
17 Vice Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat PVSM , AVSM , VrC 31 October 199230 September 1993Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [28]
18 Vice Admiral S. K. Chand PVSM , AVSM 15 October 199330 November 1995 [29]
19 Vice Admiral Kailash K. Kohli AVSM 30 November 199519 October 1996Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. [30]
20 Vice Admiral Sushil Kumar PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , NM 19 October 199631 March 1998Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [31]
21 Vice Admiral P. J. Jacob AVSM , VSM 31 March 199828 February 2001 [32]
22 Vice Admiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM , AVSM 1 March 20011 January 2002Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [32]
23 Vice Admiral John Colin De Silva PVSM , AVSM 1 January 200230 September 2003 [33]
24 Vice Admiral Arun Prakash PVSM , AVSM , VrC , VSM 17 October 200330 July 2004Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [34]
25 Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad PVSM , AVSM , VSM 30 July 200431 October 2005 [35]
26 Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan PVSM , AVSM , VSM 31 October 200530 November 2006 [36]
27 Vice Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma PVSM , AVSM 30 November 20061 April 2008Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [37]
28 Vice Admiral R. P. Suthan30 April 200830 July 2009Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. [38]
29 Vice Admiral D. K. Dewan1 September 200930 August 2011 [39]
30 Vice Admiral Robin K. Dhowan PVSM , AVSM , YSM 31 August 201116 April 2014Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [40] [41]
31 Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM , AVSM 2 June 201430 March 2015Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [42] [43]
32 Vice Admiral Parasurama Naidu Murugesan AVSM , VSM 31 March 201530 May 2016 [44] [45]
33 Vice Admiral Karambir Singh PVSM , AVSM 31 May 201630 October 2017Later Chief of the Naval Staff. [46]
34 Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P PVSM , AVSM , VSM 30 October 201730 January 2019Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. [47]
35 Vice Admiral G. Ashok Kumar PVSM , AVSM , VSM 30 January 201931 July 2021 [48]
36 Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade PVSM , AVSM , NM , ADC 31 July 202131 March 2023 [49]
37 Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh AVSM , NM 1 April 202331 December 2023Present Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. [50]
38 Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi AVSM , NM 4 January 202430 April 2024Present Chief of the Naval Staff [51]
39 Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan AVSM , VSM 1 May 2024Incumbent [52]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Appointed as rear admiral, appointment raised to the rank of vice-admiral 26 March 1969. [5]

** Went on to become Chief of the Naval Staff.

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References

  1. ↑ "NHQ REORGANISATION" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 3 February 1949.
  2. ↑ Nanda, S M (October 2015). The man who bombed Karachi : a memoir. HarperCollins Publishers India. p. 113. ISBN   978-8172235628.
  3. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 23 May 1959. p. 124.
  4. 1 2 "Admiral Kohli First Naval Vice-Chief" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 11 May 1967. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Rear Admiral Krishnan Promoted Vice-Admiral" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 27 March 1969. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Staff Branch-I | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
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  8. ↑ "Report of the 7th Central Pay committee" (PDF). 20 November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Naval Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 February 1970. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 May 1969. p. 440.
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  12. ↑ "Admiral Kamath to be Naval Vice Chief" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 March 1973. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Admiral Pereira Takes Over as Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 April 1977. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash To Take Over as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 22 February 1979. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Vice Admiral Schunker Takes Over as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 April 1980. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  16. ↑ "Admiral Sethi Appointed Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 25 February 1982. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  17. ↑ "Senior Naval Appointments From March 1, 1982" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 4 February 1982. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  18. ↑ "Admiral Mookerjee Appointed Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 May 1983. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Vice Admiral Tahiliani New Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 1 May 1984. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "Vice Admiral Nayyar New Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 27 November 1984. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "Vice Admiral Nadkarni New Vice Chief of Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 27 February 1986. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
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  23. ↑ "Vice Chief of Navy Takes Over" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 8 December 1987. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  24. ↑ "New Vice Chief Takes Over" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 February 1989. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  25. ↑ "New Vice Chief For Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 13 June 1990. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  26. ↑ "New Vice Chief, Flag Officer Commanders-in-Chief and Deputy Chief For Indian Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 December 1990. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  27. ↑ "Vice Admiral Govil Retires" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 October 1992. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  28. ↑ "Change of Guard at Naval Headquarters" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 October 1992. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  29. ↑ "Vice Admiral SK Chand PVSM AVSM ADC - Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Retires Today" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 November 1995. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  30. ↑ "Admiral Kohli Appointed As New Vice Chief of Indian Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 23 November 1995. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  31. ↑ "Navy Vice Chief Appointed" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 19 October 1996. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  32. 1 2 "Major shake up in naval command structure". Rediff.com. 1 March 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  33. ↑ "VICE ADMIRAL JOHN C DESILVA, PVSM, AVSM, ADC VICE CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF RETIRES". pibarchive.nic.in.
  34. ↑ "Press Information Bureau" . Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  35. ↑ Competition Science Vision. Agra: Pratiyogita Darpan. 2004. p. 854.
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  37. ↑ "Press Information Bureau" . Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  38. ↑ "New Vice Admiral R P Suthan".
  39. ↑ "Vice Admiral Dewan takes over a Vice Chief of Naval Staff | Brahmand News". brahmand.com. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  40. ↑ "Vice Admiral Sunil Lamba may be the next navy Vice-chief". Deccan Chronicle . 25 April 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  41. ↑ "Vice Admiral Dhowan To Take Over As Vice Chief Of Navy" . Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  42. ↑ "Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba appointed new Vice Chief of Naval Staff". Firstpost. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  43. ↑ "Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba takes over as VCNS | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  44. ↑ "Indian Navy aspires to achieve 90% self-reliance in production of warships, says Vice Admiral Murugesan | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  45. ↑ "Press Information Bureau" . Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  46. ↑ "Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, AVSM assumes charge as Vice Chief of Naval Staff | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  47. ↑ "Press Information Bureau". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  48. ↑ "Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar assumes charge as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff". Zee News. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  49. ↑ "SUPERANNUATION OF VICE ADMIRAL SN GHORMADE, VICE CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF". Sea and Coast. 31 March 2023.
  50. ↑ Gaurav, Kunal (5 December 2023). "Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi to become India's new Vice Chief of Navy Staff".
  51. ↑ "VICE ADMIRAL SANJAY J SINGH TAKES OVER AS FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING-IN-CHIEF, WESTERN NAVAL COMMAND". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  52. ↑ "VICE ADMIRAL KRISHNA SWAMINATHAN, AVSM, VSM ASSUMED CHARGE AS VICE CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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