Admiral is a four-star naval

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

rank in the Indian Navy. It is the highest active rank in the Indian Navy. Admiral ranks above the three-star rank of vice admiral and below the five-star rank of admiral of the fleet, which has never been awarded or held. An admiral may be referred to as a full admiral or four-star admiral to distinguish them from lower

ranks like vice admiral and

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...

. The rank is held by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), the professional head of the Indian Navy, since 1968. The rank may also be held by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) if the holder is a serving Indian Navy flag officer. Admiral

Adhar Kumar Chatterji Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji (4 March 1914 – 6 August 2001) was an Admiral in the Indian Navy. He served as the 6th Chief of the Naval Staff, from 4 March 1966, until 28 February 1970. He was the first Indian officer of the navy to hold ...

was the first Indian officer to hold the rank of full admiral. The current Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) and only full admiral in the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by t ...

is Admiral R. Hari Kumar. The equivalent rank in the Indian Army is general and in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

Insignia

The flag of an admiral is a

Saint George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cr ...

upon which is superimposed a navy-blue ''

Dharmachakra The dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र; Pali: ''dhammacakka'') or wheel of dharma is a widespread symbol used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and especially Buddhism.John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, ''The Circle ...

'' (''Wheel of Law''). The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over four eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. An admiral wears

gorget patches Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank (group ...

which are golden patches with four white stars and additional oak leaves under them. In addition to this, the double-breasted

reefer jacket A pea coat (or peacoat, pea jacket, pilot jacket, reefer jacket) is an outer coat, generally of a navy-coloured heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European and later American navies. Pea coats are characterized by short length, broad lape ...

has four golden sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with three narrower bands.

Appointment and term length

Appointments to the office of CNS are made by the

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) appoints several top posts within the Government of India. The committee is composed of the Prime Minister of India (''ex-officio'' Chairman) and the Minister of Home Affairs. Originally the Minist ...

(ACC), which is chaired by the Prime Minister of India. The term length of the Chief of Naval Staff is three years or until the age of 62 of the holder, whichever is earlier.

Order of precedence

An admiral ranks at No. 12 on the

Indian order of precedence The order of precedence of the Republic of India is a list in which the functionaries, dignitaries and officials are listed for ceremonial purposes and has no legal standing and does not reflect the Indian presidential line of succession or the c ...

, along with the CDS and the Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Army and

(the COAS and the

CAS Cas may refer to: * Caș, a type of cheese made in Romania * ' (1886–) Czech magazine associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk * '' Čas'' (19 April 1945–February 1948), the official, daily newspaper of the Democratic Party of Slovakia * ''CA ...

). An admiral is at pay level 18, equivalent to

Cabinet Secretary of India The Cabinet Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ''ex-officio'' head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrativ ...

(at No. 11 on the warrant of precedence), with a monthly pay of ₹250,000 (US$3,500).

References

Bibliography

* {{Indian Navy India Navy Indian Navy Military ranks of the Indian Navy Four-star officers

Insignia

Appointment and term length

Order of precedence

See also

References

Bibliography