Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Nirmal Kumar Verma (born 14 November 1950) is a former senior

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

who served as the Chief of the Naval Staff of

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

, from 31 August 2009 to 31 August 2012. In November 2012, he was appointed as the High Commissioner to Canada.

Early life

Born on 14 November 1950, he joined the

at the age of 19. He studied at

Goethals Memorial School en, 'Do All Things Well' , established = , type = Independent co-ed day and boarding secondary schoolHigher secondary section is also co-ed , affiliations = Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers, ICSE , headmaster = Br. Thomas Samuel , found ...

Kurseong Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throughout ...

Royal Naval Staff College The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

in the United Kingdom, and the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

in 1993 in the United States.

Military career

Verma took charge of the Naval Academy in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, and subsequently became commander of a series of Indian Navy ships, including

INS Ranvir (D54) INS ''Ranvir'' is the fourth of the five s built for the Indian Navy. ''Ranvir'' was commissioned on 28 October 1986. Service history 2008 INS ''Ranvir'' along with were anchored just outside Sri Lankan territorial waters to provide sec ...

and

INS Viraat INS ''Viraat'' (Sanskrit: International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, Virāṭa meaning ''Giant'') was a of the Indian Navy. INS ''Viraat'' was the flagship of the Indian Navy before was commissioned in 2013. The ship was completed and ...

, India's only

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

. He then took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command, and was appointed Chief of the Indian Navy upon the retirement of

Sureesh Mehta Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM (born August 18, 1947) served as 19th Chief of the Indian Navy from 31 October 2006 until 31 August 2009. He was succeeded by Nirmal Kumar Verma. He is the first service chief from India's armed forces to be born ...

on 31 August 2009. During his career he has been awarded several decorations, including the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

and 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 ...

. He took over as the Chairman, Chief's of Staff Committee on 30 July 2011 from the then outgoing Chief of Air Staff

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 Admir ...

P V Naik.

Awards

Post Retirement

Adm Verma was appointed as High Commissioner of India to Canada in 2012. He is currently a CNO Distinguished International Fellow at the US

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Nirmal Kumar Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff (India) 1951 births Living people High Commissioners of India to Canada Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Indian Navy admirals Commandants of the Indian Naval Academy Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal