Vice admiral is a three-star

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 second-highest active rank in the Indian Navy. Vice admiral ranks above the

two-star rank An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank ...

of rear admiral and below the

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

of admiral, which is held by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). The equivalent rank in the Indian Army is lieutenant general and in the Indian Air Force is air marshal. Officers in the rank of vice admiral hold important appointments at the naval commands and at the naval headquarters.

History

Admiral Ram Dass Katari was the first Indian to be promoted to the rank of Vice admiral. On 22 April 1958, he took over as the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) and promoted to the substantive rank of Vice Admiral. From 1948 to 1968, the appointment of CNS, the professional head of the Indian Navy was held by a vice admiral. The position of the CNS was upgraded from vice admiral to admiral in 1968. The first officer to hold the rank was Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji who was promoted to the rank while he served as the CNS.

Naval commanders (C-in-C grade)

Senior vice admirals who are in the C-in-C grade (naval commanders), are considered to be in a grade higher than other vice admirals. They hold the senior-most appointments like the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and the heads of the three naval commands (styled "flag officer commanding-in-chief"). The three FOC-in-C appointments are: * Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command * Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command * Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command

Insignia

The flag of a vice admiral has a horizontal red stripe and a vertical red stripe intersecting at the centre. On top of the intersection is superimposed a navy-blue

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

with one red roundel in the upper canton next to the staff. The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over three eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. A vice 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 o ...

which are golden patches with three white stars. Naval commanders in the C-in-C grade have additional oak leaves under the three white stars. 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 la ...

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

Order of precedence

A vice admiral in the C-in-C grade ranks at No. 23 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 lieutenant generals of the Indian Army and air marshals of the Indian Air Force in the C-in-C grade. The other vice admirals rank at No. 24 in the order of precedence. Vice admirals in the C-in-C grade are at the apex pay scale (pay level 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,100). Other vice admirals, in the HAG+ pay scale (pay level 16) draw lesser, depending on the years in service. However, since they should not draw equivalent or more than the next higher level, the remuneration is capped at ₹224,000.

References

Bibliography