By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, April 3:
Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru, took over the charge as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) from Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh who retired after over 38 years of service on Thursday.
Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 01, 1985, and is a Submarine and Navigation Specialist. In his career spanning over 37 years, he has held a variety of Command and Staff appointments both ashore and afloat. He has commanded INS Shalki, a Type 1500 Shishumar Class submarine, Cadets Training Ship INS Krishna, and Destroyer INS Rajput.
He has also commanded INS Satavahana the Navy’s Submarine Training Establishment (atVisakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh) where he set up the School for Advanced Underwater Warfare. In his staff tenures, he served in the Directorate of Submarine Operations and Directorate of Nuclear Submarine Acquisition at Integrated Headquarters (IHQ) Ministry of Defence (Navy). He also carried out duties as Naval Assistant to FOC-in-C (West) and FOC-in-C (South).
On promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral in 2015, he tenanted the appointments of Flag Officer Submarines and Flag Officer Maharashtra Area and Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters, the Strategic Forces Command (HQSFC). On elevation to the rank of Vice-Admiral in 2019, he held the challenging appointment of Deputy Commanding-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command before taking over the present appointment as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff at IHQ MoD (N).
He has attended the Joint Services Staff College, UK, and the College of Naval Warfare Mumbai and has a MA (Defence Studies) from Kings College, London, and M Phil (Defence Studies) from Mumbai University.
Outgoing Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, during his tenure as DCNS, witnessed several significant achievements that have elevated India’s global maritime stature and are a testimony of his resolve, professional competence, and dedication. These include the high tempo operations to ensure safe passage of Indian Flagged Merchant Vessels (IMFVs), Operation Samudra Setu II, Operation Sagar, and establishing India’s position as ‘preferred security partner and first responder’ in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Vice Admiral Ajay Kochar takes over as the Commandant, NDA
In another development, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar took over the charge as the Commandant, National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla in Maharashtra from Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor, on Friday.
As an alumnus of the NDA, Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar was commissioned in the Indian Navy on July 01, 1988. He is a graduate of the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, Naval War College, Karanja (near Mumbai), and Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom.
In a career spanning 34 years, the Flag Officer held various important and challenging command and staff appointments. He has been the Fleet Commander of the Western Fleet, the sword arm of the Indian Navy where he led the Fleet for critical operational missions, foreign bilateral exercises, and major Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) tasking. He has commanded India’s only Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and during his tenure, the carrier was deployed extensively for Operations on both East and West coasts. The officer has the distinction of commissioning a frontline frigate for the Navy at Kaliningrad, Russia. His other command appointments include INS Kirpan, a missile Corvette, and missile vessels during Operation Parakram.
His staff appointments include Joint Director, Naval Plans and Director of Staff Requirements at Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), wherein he formulated the future maritime perspective and capabilities enhancement plans for the Indian Navy.
Now he at the helm of affairs, NDA will gain immensely with his vast experience and exposure in all areas of operations, training, and human resource management, an official statement said.
