Chief of the Naval Staff | |
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Status | Professional head of naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. |
Abbreviation | CNS |
Member of | National Security Council Defence Planning Committee Defence Acquisition Council |
Reports to | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Seat | Integrated HQ of MoD (Navy), South Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi |
Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) President of India |
Term length | 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. |
Constituting instrument | Navy Act, 1957 (Act No. 62 of 1957) |
Precursor | Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy |
Formation | 26 January 1950 |
First holder | Vice-Admiral Edward Parry |
Deputy | ![]() |
Salary | ₹250,000 (US$3,100) monthly [1] [2] |
The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) is the office of the professional head of the Indian Navy (IN), the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. [3] Customarily held by a four-star admiral, the CNS is the senior-most operational officer of the IN, tasked with the roles of supervising the force's overall functioning during peace and wartime, along with the execution of India's strategic maritime objectives, namely, the defence of the country's maritime sovereignty around its territorial waters, and the realization of both its domestic-cum-international security interests vis-à-vis maritime vigilance across international sea lines. [4] Also a permanent member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the National Security Council (NSC), the CNS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Government of India on all matters privy to the IN. [5]
Statutorily, the CNS ranks 12th-overall in the Indian order of precedence, and is the IN's status-equivalent of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff - all three positions of which are also occupied by four-star officers from the armed forces. [6]
At Independence, the head of the Navy was designated the "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy." [7] On 21 June 1948, the title of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added, [8] 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 the Naval Staff". [9] 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.
The official residence of the CNS, Navy House, is situated at 12, Rajaji Marg. It is a Type-VIII bungalow located inside the Lutyens Bungalow Zone. [10]
No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
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1 | John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) | Rear Admiral15 August 1947 | 20 June 1948 | 310 days | [11] [12] |
No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) | Rear Admiral21 June 1948 | 14 August 1948 | 54 days | [11] [13] | |
2 | Sir William Edward Parry KCB (1893–1972) | Vice Admiral14 August 1948 | 25 January 1950 | 1 year, 164 days | . |
No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Vice-Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB [14] (1893–1972) | 26 January 1950 | 13 October 1951 | 1 year, 260 days | |
3 | 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 | |
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 | |
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 (1933–2024) | 1 December 1990 | 30 September 1993 | 2 years, 303 days | |
14 | Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat PVSM , AVSM , VrC , ADC (born 1937 [15] ) | 1 October 1993 | 30 September 1996 | 2 years, 365 days | |
15 | Vishnu Bhagwat PVSM , AVSM , ADC (born 1939 [16] ) | 1 October 1996 | 30 December 1998 | 2 years, 90 days | |
16 | Admiral Sushil Kumar PVSM , UYSM , AVSM , NM , ADC (1940–2019 [17] ) | 30 December 1998 | 29 December 2001 | 2 years, 364 days | |
17 | Admiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM , AVSM , ADC (born 1942 [18] ) | 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 | |
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 | |
24 | Admiral Karambir Singh PVSM , AVSM , ADC (born 1959) [19] | 31 May 2019 | 30 November 2021 | 2 years, 183 days | |
25 | Admiral R. Hari Kumar PVSM , AVSM , VSM , ADC (born 1962) [20] | 30 November 2021 | 30 April 2024 | 2 years, 152 days | |
26 | Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi PVSM , AVSM , NM (born 1964) [21] | 30 April 2024 | Incumbent | 31 days |
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