Vice Admiral Atul Anand, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the

Additional Secretary Additional Secretary (often abbreviated as AS, GoI or Union Additional Secretary or Additional Secretary to Government of India) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of thi ...

of the Department of Military Affairs. He earlier served as the Director General Naval Operations, as Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, as

Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOMA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOMA has operational control ...

and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the National Defence Academy.

Early life and education

Anand was born in an armed forces family. His father attended the National Defence Academy (NDA) as part of the 13th course. Anand also attended the NDA, as part of the 71st course.

Naval career

Anand was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1988. He is a specialist in Navigation and Direction. He spent his early years as the navigating officer of , and . He also was the Direction Officer of the Sea Harrier Squadron INAS 300. He attended the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He served as the Joint Director Staff Requirements at Naval headquarters. Anand commanded the Astravahini-class torpedo recovery vessel A72, the

Chamak-class missile boat The ''Chamak''-class missile boats (NATO code Osa II class) of the Indian Navy were an Indian variant of the Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental coun ...

and the lead ship of her class of

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s, . He served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

and the principal warfare officer of the lead ship of her class of guided missile destroyers . He then commanded ''Delhi's''

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

. In the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he served as

Directing Staff Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington Cantonment. At NHQ, he served as the Director Naval Operations and as the Director Naval Intelligence (Ops). He also attended the Advance Security Cooperation Course at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, USA. As a Commodore, in 2013, Anand attended the National Defence College as part of the 53rd course. He then served as the Principal Director Naval Operations and as the Principal Director Strategy, Concepts and Transformation, both at NHQ. In January 2015, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service.

Flag rank

Anand was promoted to flag rank and was appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence) at Naval headquarters. In June 2020, he moved to Pune and took over as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of his alma-mater, National Defence Academy. After an eight-month stint, he was appointed

(FOMA) in February 2021. He took over from Rear Admiral

Vennam Srinivas Vice Admiral Vennam Srinivas, AVSM, NM is a serving flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Inspector General Nuclear Safety. he previously served as the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) and as the Fl ...

on 22 February 2021. For his tenure as FOMA, he was awarded the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

on 26 January 2022. After a short tenure as FOMA, he moved to Karwar as the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, taking over on 20 December 2021. On 1 April 2023, Anand was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) at naval headquarters, succeeding Vice Admiral

Rajesh Pendharkar Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, AVSM, VSM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (Op ...

. After a short stint as DGNO, he was appointed

of the Department of Military Affairs, headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anand, Atul Indian Navy vice admirals Living people Year of birth missing (living people) National Defence Academy (India) alumni Defence Services Staff College alumni National Defence College, India alumni Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Flag Officers Commanding Karnataka Naval Area