Vice Admiral Sanjay Mahindru, AVSM, NM is a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, from 31 Mar 2022 to 30 September 2023. Prior to this, he served as the

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 ...

(FOMA), having been appointed on 17 October 2016. He earlier served as Flag Officer Submarines from 2015 to 2016.

Career

Mahindru joined and graduated from the National Defence Academy. He was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 1 January 1985. He specialised in navigation and qualified as a submariner. He attended the Joint Services Command and Staff College at United Kingdom. He has served in the Directorate of Submarine Operations and Directorate of Nuclear Submarine Acquisition. He commanded the

Shishumar-class submarine The ''Shishumar''-class submarines are diesel-electric attack submarines, currently in active service with the Indian Navy. These submarines are an Indian variant of the Type 209 submarines developed by the German yard Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Wer ...

, the cadet training ship and the lead ship of her class of guided-missile destroyers . He also commanded the

submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...

INS Satavahana, the Navy’s submarine training establishment where he set up the School for Advanced Underwater Warfare. Mahindru attended the Higher Naval Command Course at the

College of Naval Warfare A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering v ...

, Mumbai. He later served as the Naval Assistant to the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the ...

and to the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command The Southern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It has its headquarters in Kochi, Kerala at INS Venduruthy. It is the Training Command of the Indian Navy. The Command is commanded by a Three Star Fl ...

. As a Commodore, he headed the ''Arihant Project'', India’s first Nuclear Submarine.

Flag rank

Mahindru was promoted to the rank of

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 regarde ...

in September 2015 and was appointed Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM), the single-point class authority of submarines in India. After a year-long stint as FOSM, he took over as the

(FOMA). As FOMA, he initiated a number of initiatives to improve lives of naval veterans. 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 2018. Mahindru subsequently served as the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters

Strategic Forces Command The Strategic Forces Command (SFC), sometimes called Strategic Nuclear Command, forms part of India's Nuclear Command Authority (NCA). It is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weap ...

. In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Forces Command. On 31 March 2022, he moved to Naval HQ having been appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) succeeding Vice Admiral

Ravneet Singh Ravneet Singh Bittu is an Indian politician. He previously served as the leader of Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha from 11 March 2021 to 18 July 2021. Bittu was elected to the Lok Sabha, lower house of the Parliament of India from Ludhian ...

who superannuated. He superannuated on 30 September 2023 and handed over charge of DCNS to Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti.

Awards and decorations

Mahindru was awarded the Nau Sena Medal (Gallantry) in 2002 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahindru, Sanjay Living people Indian Navy vice admirals Flag Officers Submarines (India) Year of birth missing (living people) Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Nau Sena Medal Graduates of Joint Services Command and Staff College Naval War College, Goa alumni