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

Andaman and Nicobar Command The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is a integrated tri-services 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's strategic in ...

, the first and only Tri-service

theater command A theater command (战区) is a multi-service formation of China's People's Liberation Army subordinated to the Central Military Commission. Theater commands are broadly responsible for strategy, plans, tactics, and policy specific to their a ...

of 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 ...

, based at Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly

Port Blair Port Blair (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, 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 headqu ...

) in the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

, a

Union Territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The current CINCAN is

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Dinesh Singh Rana

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

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 ...

, YSM, SM who took command on 1 June 2025 as the 18th CINCAN.

History

The

became a

Union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

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 usu ...

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

, which was commissioned in 1964. The base was commanded by a Resident Naval Officer (RNO). After establishing 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 The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. 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 afterwards, all establishments came under the newly created Fortress Andaman & Nicobar to signify jointness. The appointment was redesignated to Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (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 contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...

In March 1981, FORTAN was upgraded to a Two star appointment tenanted by a

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

Arun Prakash Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (born October 1944) is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Chief of the Naval Staff from 31 July 2004 to 31 October 2006 and as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee f ...

, took over as the First Commander-in-Chief of the unified command.

Organisation

The CINCAN is a

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 ...

officer from the three Services in rotation. The CINCAN reports directly to the

Chief of Defence Staff (India) The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is the principal military authority and senior-most appointment of the Indian Armed Forces. Deemed the overall professional head of India’s three armed services, namely, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and ...

(CDS) in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. He is assisted by the Chief of Staff of the command, a

two-star officer Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, ...

and the commanders of each component (sea, land, air) -

one-star officers One star may refer to: * One-star rank, a senior military rank * Star (classification), a grading of, for example, a hotel, restaurant, movie, TV show or theatre or musical work or performance * One Star (record label), producers of Haciendo El A ...

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 - 7
Navy - 7
Air Force - 4

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

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