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 ...

Atul Anand,

AVSM 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 ...

, VSM is a serving Flag officer 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 ...

. He currently serves as the

Additional Secretary to the Government of India Additional Secretary (often abbreviated as AS, GoI or Union Additional Secretary or Additional Secretary to Government of India) is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for creation of thi ...

at the

Department of Military Affairs Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is the department in charge of military matters within the Indian Ministry of Defence. Headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, as its ''ex-officio'' secretary, the DMA provides integration between the Indian ...

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. He earlier served as the Director General Naval Operations, as

Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area (FOK) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOK is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOK is responsible for the opera ...

, as

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 contr ...

and as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

Early life and education

Anand was born in an armed forces family. His father attended the

(NDA) as part of the 13th course. Anand also attended the NDA, as part of the 71st course.

Naval career

Anand was commissioned into the

on 1 January 1988. He is a specialist in Navigation and Direction. He spent his early years as the navigating officer of , and . He also was the Direction Officer of the Sea Harrier Squadron INAS 300. He attended the

Defence Services Command and Staff College The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) is situated at Batalanda, Makola (South) 12 Kilometers away from Colombo and its aim to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of experienced officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Sr ...

in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He served as the Joint Director Staff Requirements at Naval headquarters. Anand commanded the Astravahini-class torpedo recovery vessel A72, the Chamak-class missile boat and the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of her class of

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

s, . He served as the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

and the principal warfare officer of the lead ship of her class of

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

s . He then commanded ''Delhi's''

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

. In the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, he served as

Directing Staff Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

at the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

Wellington Cantonment Wellington is a cantonment town in the Coonoor sub-Division of Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. One of its most famous residents was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the town on 27 June 2008. The town is adjacent to the town of Coonoor. ...

. At NHQ, he served as the Director Naval Operations and as the Director Naval Intelligence (Ops). He also attended the Advance Security Cooperation Course at the

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) is a U.S. Department of Defense institute that officially opened Sept. 4, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Center addresses regional and global security issues, inviting mili ...

in Hawaii, USA. As a

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

, in 2013, Anand attended the National Defence College as part of the 53rd course. He then served as the Principal Director Naval Operations and as the Principal Director Strategy, Concepts and Transformation, both at NHQ. In January 2015, he was awarded the

Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM, ) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize ex ...

for distinguished service.

Flag rank

Anand was promoted to flag rank and was appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence) at Naval headquarters. In June 2020, he moved to Pune and took over as the Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor of his alma-mater,

. After an eight-month stint, he was appointed

(FOMA) in February 2021. He took over from Rear Admiral

Vennam Srinivas Vice Admiral Vennam Srinivas, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a serving flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. He previously served as the Inspector General Nuclear Safety, Flag Of ...

on 22 February 2021. 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 D ...

on 26 January 2022. After a short tenure as FOMA, he moved to Karwar as the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, taking over on 20 December 2021. On 1 April 2023, Anand was promoted to the rank of

and appointed Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) at naval headquarters, succeeding Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar. After a short stint as DGNO, he was appointed Additional Secretary of the

, headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff

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 ...

Anil Chauhan General Anil Chauhan (born 18 May 1961) is a four-star general of the Indian Army, who is the current and 2nd Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces, since 30 September 2022. On 28 September 2022, Gen Chauhan was recalled fr ...

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anand, Atul Indian Navy vice admirals Living people Year of birth missing (living people) National Defence Academy (India) alumni Defence Services Staff College alumni National Defence College, India alumni Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Flag Officers Commanding Karnataka Naval Area Flag Officers Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area