Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) is the head of the

Andaman and Nicobar Command The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first and only tri-service theater command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India. It was created in 2001 to safeguard India ...

, the first and only Tri-service theater command of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

, based at

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division ('' tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South A ...

in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated ...

, a Union Territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. The current CINCAN is

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Ajai Singh Lieutenant general (Retd) Ajai Singh PVSM, AVSM (born 20 November 1934) was the Governor of Assam state in India, from 2003 to 2008. He is also the chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC). Early life and career Born on 20 November 19 ...

AVSM who took command on 1 June 2021 as the 16th CINCAN.

History

The

became a Union territory of India in 1956. The first military unit on the islands was the

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

INS Jarawa INS Jarawa is a naval base of the Indian Armed Forces under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command located in Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It was commissioned in 1964. INS Utkrosh is an adjacent naval air station. '' ...

which was commissioned in 1964. The base was commanded by a Resident Naval Officer (RNO). With the establishment of subsequent garrisons in the islands, the post was upgraded to Naval Officer-in-charge Andaman & Nicobar (NOIC A&N). The naval establishments were under the command of the Eastern Naval Command during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Dec ...

. In October 1976, the operational control of all forces in the islands was given and the post was upgraded to Commodore, Andaman & Nicobar (COMAN). Shortly afterward, to signify jointness, all establishments came under the newly created Fortress Andaman & Nicobar. The appointment was re-designated to ''Fortress Commander, Andaman & Nicobar'' (FORTAN). In 1978, INS Kardip was commissioned as a

Forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine sho ...

In March 1981, FORTAN was upgraded to a

Two star Two star, two stars and similar may refer to: * A grading of a hotel, restaurant, film, etc. in a star (classification) scheme * Two star petrol, a class of Leaded petrol formerly sold in the UK * Two-star rank, a senior military rank * Two-Hand ...

appointment tenanted by a

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

. In 1987, the post was further upgraded to a three star appointment. In 1998, a 'Far East Naval Command' (FENC) was proposed, to be commanded by a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Far East Naval Command. With the operationalisation of the A & N Command as a unified theatre command in October 2001, Vice Admiral Arun Prakash, took over as the First Commander-in-Chief of the unified command.

Organisation

The CINCAN is a

Three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

officer from the three Services in rotation. The CINCAN reports directly to the Chief of Defence Staff (India) (CDS) in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. He is assisted by the Chief of Staff of the command, a two-star officer and the commanders of each component (sea, land, air) - one-star officers.

List of Commanders

The following is a list of Commanders-in-Chief of the A&N command.

List of CINCAN by branches of service

Army - 6
Navy - 7
Air Force - 3

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official Website - CINCAN
{{Indian Navy Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force Indian military appointments