Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar,

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 Di ...

, VSM is a serving

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 the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countr ...

in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. He currently serves as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief of the

Integrated Defence Staff The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is an organisation responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritisation across the different branches of the Indian Armed Forces. It is composed of representatives from the Indian Army, Indian Navy ...

(Operations). He has also served as the Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) at Naval Headquarters

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 ...

, as the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) at Southern Naval Command,

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...

and as the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Education

Pendharkar is a graduate of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

, Khadakvasla. He was commissioned into the

in January 1987. He attended the graduate course of 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 Military Service, Indian Nav ...

, Wellington, as well as the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

. Pendharkar also attended the Naval Command College, Rhode Island, USA. He holds a Master’s Degree in Defence and Strategic Studies.

Navy career

Pendharkar was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 1987. He is an

Anti-Submarine Warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typi ...

(ASW) specialist. His operational assignments include commissioning crew of the

Sukanya-class patrol vessel The ''Sukanya''-class patrol vessels are large, offshore patrol craft in active service with the Indian Navy. Three lead ships were built by Korea Tacoma, now part of Hanjin Group. Vessels of the ''Sukanya'' class are named after notable women fr ...

, ASW Officer of the Nilgiri-class frigate and the Godavari-class

guided-missile frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

. Pendharkar 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, ...

of the Khukri-class corvette and the Delhi-class

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 who have a pri ...

. He has commanded the

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

of her class of corvettes and the lead ship of her class of

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology **Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Stea ...

missile frigates . He also commanded the aircraft carrier and was her penultimate

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latit ...

. His staff assignments include Flag Lieutenant to the Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area, and instructor at the

. He has also served as Joint Director in the Directorate of Staff Requirements and Joint Director in the Directorate of Personnel, both at naval headquarters. As a Commodore, he served as the Principal Director, Net-Centric Operations and as the Principal Director in the Directorate of Personnel at NHQ.

Flag rank

Pendharkar was promoted to the rank of

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 February 2016 and was appointed Assistant Chief of

(ACIDS) at the Defence Intelligence Agency. He then moved to HQ

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the ...

as the Chief Staff Officer (Operations). On 25 March 2019, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area. After a year-long stint, in February 2020, he took over as the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) in Kochi. As FOST, his charter included the conduct of the operational sea training of all ships of the

and the

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally estab ...

. On 7 June 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Director General Naval Operations at Naval HQ. He subsequently served as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) at

. On 1 August 2023, he assumed charge as the

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief 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 ...

(FOC-in-C ENC), taking over from Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta at a ceremonial parade held at the Naval Base

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

Awards and decorations

Pendharkar is a recipient of 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 Di ...

(AVSM) and

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 exc ...

(VSM) for distinguished service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendharkar, Rajesh Living people Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Sea Training Year of birth missing (living people) Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Defence Services Staff College alumni