The Chief of Personnel (COP) 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 ...
is a senior appointment in the rank of
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 vic ...
. As a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) at Naval Headquarters (NHQ), the COP is responsible for personnel-related matters. The present COP is
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 ...
Sanjay Bhalla who was appointed on 10 May 2024.
History
At the time of
Independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
, the COP was one of five PSOs at Naval headquarters. The appointment was held by an officer of 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 ...
. On 24 September 1956, the appointment was upgraded to the rank of
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 ' ...
(Second Class).
The directorates of personnel services, training education, medical services, judge advocate general and the supply branch were under the COP.
In 1965, the appointment was further upgraded to
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 ...
. Rear Admiral
K. R. Nair was the first COP in this rank, when he took over on 17 August 1965.
The post was further upgraded to
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 ...
in March 1973.
During this re-organisation, an assistant PSO post was created - Assistant Chief of Personnel (ACOP) - a
two-star appointment. In the 1980s, two new directorates were formed under the COP - Financial Planning (Non-public funds) in 1985 and Ex-Servicemen Affairs (DESA) in 1988.
Organisation
The COP heads the Personnel Branch at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the COP.
* Controller of Personnel Services
* Director General Medical Services
** Assistant Director General Medical Services
* Assistant Chief of Personnel (HRD)
* Assistant Chief of Personnel (Administration and Civilian)
* Judge Advocate General
Appointees
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
{{Indian Navy
Indian military appointments
Indian Navy appointments