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 that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

rank in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. It is the highest active rank in the Indian Navy. Admiral ranks above the

three-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usual ...

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

and below the

five-star rank A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is th ...

admiral of the fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

, 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

and

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. The equivalent rank in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

History

The rank is held by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), the professional head of the

, 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 5th 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 armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

is Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi.

Insignia

The flag of an admiral has a gold-blue octagon bearing naval crest in the middle, and four blue stars placed vertically at hoist side. This new design was introduced in September 2022. Earlier, the flag of an admiral had 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 The Ashoka Chakra (Transl: Ashoka's wheel) is an Indian symbol which is a depiction of the dharmachakra (English: "wheel of dharma"). It is so-called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka the Great, most prominent among which is ...

. 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 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) is a high-level committee within the Government of India responsible for appointing senior officials to key positions in the central government and public sector undertakings.Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

. 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 ...

, along with the

CDS CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...

and the Chiefs of Staff of the

and

(the COAS and the CAS). An admiral is at pay level 18, equivalent to

Cabinet Secretary of India The Cabinet Secretary (ISO:''मंत्रिमंडळ सचिव'') 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 Boa ...

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

References

Bibliography