Chief of the Naval Staff (India)
The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), also known as the Navy Chief (abbreviated to CNS), is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces held by a four star admiral. As the highest ranking officer to serve solely in the Indian Navy, the chief is the operational head of the Indian Navy and the principal naval adviser to the Minister of Defence. The CNS, in a separate capacity, is also a member of the National Security Council and thereby an advisor to the president and the prime minister. The CNS is typically the most senior naval officer in the Indian Armed Forces as the military leader of the naval forces, unless the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee is a naval officer.
| Chief of the Naval Staff (India) | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Chief of the Naval Staff | |
| Indian Navy | |
| Type | Military branch chief |
| Abbreviation | CNS |
| Member of | National Security Council |
| Reports to | Prime Minister Minister of Defence Chief of Defence Staff |
| Seat | Central Secretariat |
| Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) |
| Term length | 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. |
| Constituting instrument | Navy Act, 1957 (Act No. 62 of 1957) |
| Precursor | Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy |
| Formation | 26 January 1950 |
| First holder | Vice-Admiral Edward Parry |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of the Naval Staff |
| Salary | ₹250,000 (US$3,100) monthly[1][2] |
The CNS heads the military staff of the Indian Navy and advises both the president of the Republic and the prime minister on naval affairs. The current CNS is Admiral R. Hari Kumar. The 25th Navy Chief, he took over from Karambir Singh, who retired on 30 November 2021 after four decades of service from the navy.[3]
At Independence, the head of the Navy was designated the "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy."[4] On 21 June 1948, the title of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added,[5] with a re-designation to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy".
The "Royal" designation was dropped when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. Thus re-designating the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy".
The "Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955" re-designated the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of Naval Staff".[6] The post was held by a three-star rank Vice Admiral until 1968, when it was upgraded to the four-star rank of a full Admiral.
Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The Chief of the Naval Staff generally reaches superannuation upon serving three years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Appointees
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) | 15 August 1947 | 20 June 1948 | 310 days | [7][8] |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) | 21 June 1948 | 14 August 1948 | 54 days | [7][9] | |
| 2 | Vice Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB (1893–1972) | 14 August 1948 | 25 January 1950 | 1 year, 164 days | . |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vice-Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB [10] (1893–1972) | 26 January 1950 | 13 October 1951 | 1 year, 260 days | |
| 2 | Admiral Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey KBE, CB, DSO & Bar (1899–1993) | 13 October 1951 | 31 March 1955 | 3 years, 169 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Admiral Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey KBE, CB, DSO & Bar (1899–1993) | 1 April 1955 | 21 July 1955 | 111 days | |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral Sir Stephen Hope Carlill KBE, CB, DSO & Bar (1902–1996) | 21 July 1955 | 21 April 1958 | 2 years, 274 days | |
| 3 | Vice-Admiral Ram Dass Katari (1911–1983) | 22 April 1958 | 4 June 1962 | 4 years, 43 days | |
| 4 | Vice-Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (1913–1995) | 4 June 1962 | 3 March 1966 | 3 years, 272 days | |
| 5 | Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji (1914–2001) | 3 March 1966 | 28 February 1970 | 3 years, 362 days | |
| 6 | Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda PVSM, AVSM (1915–2009) | 28 February 1970 | 28 February 1973 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 7 | Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM (1916–1997) | 1 March 1973 | 29 February 1976 | 2 years, 365 days | |
| 8 | Admiral Jal Cursetji PVSM (1919–1991) | 1 March 1976 | 1 March 1979 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 9 | Admiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira PVSM, AVSM (1923–1993) | 1 March 1979 | 28 February 1982 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 10 | Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson PVSM, AVSM, ADC (1923–2011) | 1 March 1982 | 30 November 1984 | 2 years, 274 days | |
| 11 | Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani PVSM, AVSM (1930–2015) | 1 December 1984 | 30 November 1987 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 12 | Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC (1931–2018) | 1 December 1987 | 30 November 1990 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 13 | Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC (born 1933) | 1 December 1990 | 30 September 1993 | 2 years, 303 days | |
| 14 | Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat PVSM, AVSM, VrC, ADC (born 1937[11]) | 1 October 1993 | 30 September 1996 | 2 years, 365 days | |
| 15 | Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1939[12]) | 1 October 1996 | 30 December 1998 | 2 years, 90 days | |
| 16 | Admiral Sushil Kumar PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, NM, ADC (1940–2019[13]) | 30 December 1998 | 29 December 2001 | 2 years, 364 days | |
| 17 | Admiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1942[14]) | 29 December 2001 | 31 July 2004 | 2 years, 215 days | |
| 18 | Admiral Arun Prakash PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC (born 1944) | 31 July 2004 | 31 October 2006 | 2 years, 215 days | |
| 19 | Admiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1947) | 31 October 2006 | 31 August 2009 | 2 years, 304 days | |
| 20 | Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma PVSM, AVSM (born 1951) | 31 August 2009 | 31 August 2012 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 21 | Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC (born 1954) | 31 August 2012 | 26 February 2014 | 1 year, 179 days | |
| – | Vice Admiral Robin K. Dhowan PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 1954) Acting | 26 February 2014 | 17 April 2014 | 50 days | |
| 22 | Admiral Robin K. Dhowan PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC (born 1954) | 17 April 2014 | 31 May 2016 | 2 years, 44 days | |
| 23 | Admiral Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1957) | 31 May 2016 | 31 May 2019 | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 24 | Admiral Karambir Singh PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1959) [15] | 31 May 2019 | 30 November 2021 | 2 years, 183 days | |
| 25 | Admiral R. Hari Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC (born 1962) [3] | 30 November 2021 | Incumbent | 1 year, 50 days |
See also
- Royal Indian Navy Commanders - for the naval chiefs before 1950
- Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
- Chief of the Air Staff
- Chief of the Army Staff
- Chief of Defence Staff
- Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
- Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
- Chief of the General Staff
- Commander-in-Chief of India
- List of serving admirals of the Indian Navy
References
- ^ (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?". India Today. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar to be next chief of naval staff". Times of India. 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 February 1947. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ a b "World War II unit histories & officers". unithistories.com.
- ^ "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 February 1947. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Hon'ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind to award the President's colour to Indian Naval Academy". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 127
- ^ Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 131
- ^ "Former Indian Navy chief Sushil Kumar dies".
- ^ Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 135
- ^ "Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed next Navy Chief". The Hindu. 23 March 2019.