The Chief of the Naval Staff is the head of the military staff of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff is the highest ranking naval officer on active service of the Indian Armed Forces unless the Chief of Defence is a navy officer. The Chief of Naval Staff is the primary adviser to the Government of India on naval affairs. The Chief is responsible for governing and directing the naval staff, the supreme decision making body consisting of the highest ranking naval officers of the Indian Navy, who is the navy’s chief executive and the chief naval advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff. The position is abbreviated CNS in Indian Navy cables and communication, and is always held by a full Admiral since 1966. The Chief of the Naval Staff is assisted by the Vice Chief of the navy staff.
The current CNS is Admiral Karambir Singh. The 24th Navy Chief, he took over from Admiral Sunil Lanba, who retired on 31 May 2019 after four decades of service from the navy.
At Independence, the head of the Navy was designated the “Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy.” On 21 June 1948, the title of “Chief of the Naval Staff” was added, 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“. 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
The following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Naval Staff and it’s preceding positions since the independence of India.
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 |
Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) |
15 August 1947 | 29 February 1948 | 198 days |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Rear-Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE (1896–1964) |
1 March 1948 | 14 August 1948 | 166 days | |
| 2 |
 |
Vice-Admiral William Edward Parry (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 (1893–1972) |
26 January 1950 | 13 October 1951 | 1 year, 260 days |
| 2 |
|
Vice-Admiral Charles Thomas Mark Pizey 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 |
|
Vice-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) |
1 October 1993 | 30 September 1996 | 2 years, 365 days |
| 15 |
|
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1939) |
1 October 1996 | 30 December 1998 | 2 years, 90 days |
| 16 |
 |
Admiral Sushil Kumar PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, NM, ADC (1940–2019) |
30 December 1998 | 29 December 2001 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 17 |
 |
Admiral Madhvendra Singh PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 1942) |
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) |
31 May 2019 | Incumbent | 2 years, 8 days |