Commandant of the
Indian Naval Academy
Flag of the Commandant (Vice Admiral's flag)
Incumbent
Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, AVSM
since 15 January 2024
Reports toFlag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command
SeatEzhimala, Kerala, India
Websitewww.ina.gov.in

The Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy is the head and in-charge of all the functioning of the Indian Naval Academy. The commandant of the academy is a three-star rank officer holding the rank of vice admiral. He is supported by the deputy commandant, a two-star appointment and the heads of the Academic Wing (rear admiral principal), Training Wing (commodore rank officer) and the Admin wing (commodore rank officer).[1]

History

The Naval Academy (NAVAC) was set up in Cochin in 1969 as a temporary institution, to train officers for the Navy. The first Officer-in-charge (OIC) was Commander Laxminarayan Ramdas. The title of the head of the institution changed to commandant in 1980. The academy moved to Goa in 1986 under Commandants Captain M.S. Bedi and Captain O.P. Bansal.[2] In 2008, the academy moved to Ezhimala in Kerala and was re-christened the Indian Naval Academy (INA). Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan took over as the first commandant of INA.[3]

List of Commandants

S.No Name Appointment Date Left Office Notes
1 Captain D Mohindra, NM, VSM September 1980 March 1982 [4]
2 Captain Madhvendra Singh March 1982 July 1983 Later served as the Chief of the Naval Staff[5]
3 Captain M V Karnik August 1983 April 1986
4 Captain M S Bedi April 1986 July 1986
5 Captain O P Bansal, VSM July 1986 June 1987
6 Captain K Mohan Rao, VSM July 1987 July 1989
7 Captain N P Mehta July 1989 August 1990
8 Captain K P Mathew August 1990 December 1991
9 Captain J S Bedi December 1991 June 1993
10 Commodore Nirmal Kumar Verma July 1993 September 1994 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
11 Commodore N Venugopal, VSM September 1994 December 1997
12 Commodore R F Contractor December 1997 April 1999
10 Captain S P S Cheema, NM April 1999 June 2001 Later served as Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff,[6] Commander-in Chief Strategic Forces Command,[7] Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command,[8] and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command[9]
13 Captain K S Aiyappa June 2001 June 2004
14 Commodore N N Rao June 2004 June 2007
15 Captain M A Hampiholi June 2007 January 2008 Later served as Flag officer Commanding Western Fleet.[10]
Commandant INA, Ezhimala
16 Vice Admiral M P Muralidharan January 2008 [n 1] September 2009 First Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy at the Ezhimala campus.[12] Later served as Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG).[13]
17 Vice Admiral Anurag Thapliyal September 2009 [n 2] January 2012 [14][15][16] Later served as Director General Indian Coast Guard (DGICG) [17]
18 Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan February 2012 November 2013 [18]
19 Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P, AVSM, VSM December 2013 October 2016 Later served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
20 Vice Admiral SV Bhokare, YSM, NM October 2016 February 2018 Later served as Inspector General Nuclear Safety.[19]
21 Vice Admiral R. B. Pandit, AVSM February 2018 June 2019 Later served as Commander-in-Chief,Strategic Forces Command.[20]
22 Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM June 2019 July 2020 Current Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[21][22]
23 Vice Admiral M. A. Hampiholi, AVSM, NM July 2020 29 November 2021 Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command[23]
24 Vice Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl, AVSM, VSM 01 December 2021 31 December 2023 [24]
25 Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, AVSM 15 January 2024 Present [25]

Deputy Commandants

The list of Deputy Commandants and Chief Instructors of the INA:

S.No Name Appointment Date Left Office Notes
1 Rear Admiral Kapil Gupta, VSM 1 November 2008 18 April 2011 First Deputy Commandant of INA.[26]
2 Rear Admiral L. V. Sarat Babu, NM 7 June 2011 28 August 2012 Later Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Shipyard Limited.[26][27]
3 Rear Admiral G. V. Ravindran 29 August 2012 30 June 2014 [26][28]
4 Rear Admiral M. D. Suresh, NM 14 July 2014 29 January 2018 Later Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command.[29]
5 Rear Admiral Puneet Chadha, VSM 27 March 2018 3 March 2019 Current Additional Director General National Cadet Corps.[30]
6 Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti, VSM 4 March 2019 11 January 2021 Current Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[31]
7 Rear Admiral A. N. Pramod 11 January 2021 1 April 2022 Current Flag Officer Maharashtra Naval Area.[32]
8 Rear Admiral Ajay D. Theophilus 1 April 2022 31 July 2023 Current Flag Officer Goa Area and Flag Officer Naval Aviation.[33]
9 Rear Admiral Prakash Gopalan 1 December 2023 Present [34][35]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Headquarters | INA". www.ina.gov.in.
  2. ^ Singh 2018, p. 183.
  3. ^ Singh 2018, p. 188.
  4. ^ "Gallery | INA". www.ina.gov.in.
  5. ^ "Change of guard". frontline.thehindu.com.
  6. ^ "New Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Takes Over". pib.gov.in.
  7. ^ "Lt Gen Amit Sharma is new commander of strategic forces". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 13 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Vice Admiral SPS Cheema takes over as FOC-in-c (South) | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  9. ^ "Vice Admiral S.P.S Cheema new chief of Western Naval Command". Business Standard India. 31 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Rear Admiral MA Hampiholi, NM Takes Over as Western Fleet Commander | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  11. ^ a b Singh 2018, p. 187.
  12. ^ "Naval Academy bids adieu to Vice Admiral". The Hindu. 26 August 2009.
  13. ^ "Coast Guard Officers complete Training | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  14. ^ Anandan, S. (20 January 2012). "Naval Academy may enrol foreign trainees soon". The Hindu.
  15. ^ "h7". sainiksamachar.nic.in.
  16. ^ "Naval academy celebrates Independence Day". The Hindu. 15 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Vice Admiral Tapliyal, Director General Coast Guard Commissions CG Ship 'Abhinav' | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  18. ^ "Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan to take over as Commandant Indian Naval Academy (INA) | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  19. ^ "Inspector General Nuclear Safety (IGNS) | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  20. ^ "Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM Assumes Charge as Commandant Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  21. ^ "Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, AVSM, NM Assumes Charge as Commandant Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  22. ^ Staff Reporter (28 July 2020). "New Commandant for Naval Academy". The Hindu.
  23. ^ Staff Reporter (28 July 2020). "New Commandant for Naval Academy". The Hindu.
  24. ^ "COMMANDANT,VICE ADMIRAL PUNEET K BAHL , AVSM, VSM". 27 December 2021.
  25. ^ "Indian Naval Academy". twitter.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  26. ^ a b c "Deputy Commandants | INA". www.ina.gov.in. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Takes over as HSL CMD". The Hindu. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Passing Out Parade held at Indian Naval Academy | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  29. ^ "INA Deputy Commandant takes charge". The Hindu. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  30. ^ "Rear Admiral Puneet Chadha, VSM Assumes Charge as the Deputy Commandant, Indian Naval Academy | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  31. ^ Correspondent, Special (6 March 2019). "Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti is new INA Deputy Commandant". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  32. ^ "Rear Admiral AN Pramod Assumes Charge as Deputy Commandant Indian Naval Academy | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  33. ^ "REAR ADMIRAL AJAY D THEOPHILUS ASSUMES CHARGE AS DEPUTY COMMANDANT, INA | INA". www.ina.gov.in. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  34. ^ "Prakash Gopalan assumes Deputy Commandant of INA - Goa Chronicle". goachronicle.com. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  35. ^ "Indian Naval Academy". twitter.com. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

Notes

  1. ^ Promoted to the rank of vice-admiral on 18 February 2009.[11]
  2. ^ Promoted to the rank of vice-admiral on 1 October 2009.[11]

Bibliography

Categories