Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

Chief of the Naval Staff
Chief of the Naval Staff
	Vice-Admiral Edward Parry
Deputy	Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
Salary	₹250,000 (US$3,100) monthly

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]

Office of the Chief of the Naval Staff

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".

four-star rank of a full Admiral

.

Appointments to the office are made by the

superannuation

upon serving three years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.

Official residence

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]

Appointees

Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1	CIE (1896–1964)	15 August 1947	20 June 1948	310 days	^[11]^[12]

Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1	CIE (1896–1964)	21 June 1948	14 August 1948	54 days	^[11]^[13]
2	KCB (1893–1972)	14 August 1948	25 January 1950	1 year, 164 days	.

Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1950–1955)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
2	KCB ^[14] (1893–1972)	26 January 1950	13 October 1951	1 year, 260 days
3	CB, DSO & Bar (1899–1993)	13 October 1951	31 March 1955	3 years, 169 days

Chief of the Naval Staff (1955–present)

No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	CB, DSO & Bar (1899–1993)	1 April 1955	21 July 1955	111 days
2	CB, DSO & Bar (1902–1996)	21 July 1955	21 April 1958	2 years, 274 days
3		Katari, Ram DassVice-Admiral Ram Dass Katari (1911–1983)	22 April 1958	4 June 1962	4 years, 43 days
4		Soman, Bhaskar SadashivVice-Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (1913–1995)	4 June 1962	3 March 1966	3 years, 272 days
5		Chatterji, Adhar KumarAdmiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji (1914–2001)	3 March 1966	28 February 1970	3 years, 362 days
6		Nanda, Sardarilal MathradasAdmiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda PVSM, AVSM (1915–2009)	28 February 1970	28 February 1973	3 years
7		Kohli, Sourendra NathAdmiral Sourendra Nath Kohli PVSM (1916–1997)	1 March 1973	29 February 1976	2 years, 365 days
8		Cursetji, JalAdmiral Jal Cursetji PVSM (1919–1991)	1 March 1976	1 March 1979	3 years
9		Pereira, Ronald LynsdaleAdmiral Ronald Lynsdale Pereira PVSM, AVSM (1923–1993)	1 March 1979	28 February 1982	2 years, 364 days
10	ADC (1923–2011)	1 March 1982	30 November 1984	2 years, 274 days
11		Tahiliani, Radhakrishna HariramAdmiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani PVSM, AVSM (1930–2015)	1 December 1984	30 November 1987	2 years, 364 days
12	ADC (1931–2018)	1 December 1987	30 November 1990	2 years, 364 days
13	ADC (1933–2024)	1 December 1990	30 September 1993	2 years, 303 days
14	ADC (born 1937^[15] )	1 October 1993	30 September 1996	2 years, 365 days
15	ADC (born 1939^[16] )	1 October 1996	30 December 1998	2 years, 90 days
16	ADC (1940–2019^[17] )	30 December 1998	29 December 2001	2 years, 364 days
17	ADC (born 1942^[18] )	29 December 2001	31 July 2004	2 years, 215 days
18	ADC (born 1944)	31 July 2004	31 October 2006	2 years, 215 days
19	ADC (born 1947)	31 October 2006	31 August 2009	2 years, 304 days
20		Verma, Nirmal KumarAdmiral Nirmal Kumar Verma PVSM, AVSM (born 1951)	31 August 2009	31 August 2012	3 years
21	ADC (born 1954)	31 August 2012	26 February 2014	1 year, 179 days
–	ADC (born 1954) Acting	26 February 2014	17 April 2014	50 days
22	ADC (born 1954)	17 April 2014	31 May 2016	2 years, 44 days
23	ADC (born 1957)	31 May 2016	31 May 2019	3 years
24	ADC (born 1959) ^[19]	31 May 2019	30 November 2021	2 years, 183 days
25	ADC (born 1962) ^[20]	30 November 2021	30 April 2024	2 years, 152 days
26	NM (born 1964) ^[21]	30 April 2024		−9 days

References

^ "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (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.
^ "Chief of the Naval Staff". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
^ "Defense & Security India's Evolving Maritime Strategy". southasianvoices.org. 31 May 2023.
^ "The Civil and the Military in India". www.theindiaforum.in. 12 February 2020.
^ "PRESIDENT'S SECRETARIAT" (PDF). www.mha.gov.in. 26 July 1979.
^ "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. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
^ "President of India - Digital Library". dpl.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
^ ^a ^b "World War II unit histories & officers". unithistories.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
^ "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.
^ "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar to be next chief of naval staff". Times of India. 9 November 2021.
^ "Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff". PIB Delhi. 19 April 2024.

[7_Pay_Commission_Report-1] "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.

[:India_Today_7CPC-2] 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.

[3] "Chief of the Naval Staff". www.indiannavy.nic.in.

[4] "Defense & Security India's Evolving Maritime Strategy". southasianvoices.org. 31 May 2023.

[Privy-5] "The Civil and the Military in India". www.theindiaforum.in. 12 February 2020.

[6] "PRESIDENT'S SECRETARIAT" (PDF). www.mha.gov.in. 26 July 1979.

[7] "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 February 1947. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

[8] "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

[india-cincact-9] "The Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955". VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.

[10] "President of India - Digital Library". dpl.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in. Retrieved 20 April 2024.

[unithistories-11] "World War II unit histories & officers". unithistories.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2021.

[RIN_designation-12] "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 February 1947. Retrieved 26 January 2020.

[communique-13] "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

[pib.gov.in-14] "Hon'ble President Shri Ram Nath Kovind to award the President's colour to Indian Naval Academy". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

[15] Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 127

[16] Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 131

[17] "Former Indian Navy chief Sushil Kumar dies".

[18] Service Chiefs of India, S.Sartaj Alam Abidi & Satinder Sharma P. 135

[19] "Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed next Navy Chief". The Hindu. 23 March 2019.

[rhari-cns-20] "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar to be next chief of naval staff". Times of India. 9 November 2021.

[21] "Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi appointed as the next Chief of the Naval Staff". PIB Delhi. 19 April 2024.

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v t e Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)	John Talbot Savignac Hall**
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948-1950)	John Talbot Savignac Hall Edward Parry
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1950-1955)	Edward Parry Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey
Chief of the Naval Staff (1955–present)	Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey Sir Stephen Hope Carlill Ram Dass Katari Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Adhar Kumar Chatterji Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda Sourendra Nath Kohli Jal Cursetji Ronald Lynsdale Pereira Oscar Stanley Dawson Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Laxminarayan Ramdas Vijai Singh Shekhawat Vishnu Bhagwat Sushil Kumar Madhvendra Singh Arun Prakash Sureesh Mehta Nirmal Kumar Verma Devendra Kumar Joshi Robin K. Dhowan Sunil Lanba Karambir Singh R. Hari Kumar (incumbent)
**Seconded from the Royal Navy