| Post: | Vice Chief |
| Body: | the Naval Staff |
| Flag: | Vice Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg |
| Flagsize: | 150 |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Vice Admiral |
| Incumbent: | Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan |
| Incumbentsince: | 1 May 2024 |
| Type: | Principal Staff Officer |
| Status: | Vice Chief |
| Abbreviation: | VCNS |
| Reports To: | Chief of the Naval Staff |
| Seat: | Naval Headquarters, New Delhi |
| Formation: | 11 May 1967 |
| First: | Sourendra Nath Kohli |
The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces, that is usually held by a three star vice admiral. The Vice Chief is the deputy of the Chief of the Naval Staff and is usually the second highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy. The current VCNS is Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan who took over from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on 1 May 2024.
At the time of independence of India on 15 August 1947, the Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy was the de facto Second-in-command. The appointment was held by an officer of the rank of Commodore. In 1949, the Chief of Staff was also made Deputy Commander-in-Chief RIN.[1] In 1955, the post was re-designated Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[2] In 1959, the post was upgraded to Two-star rank.[3]
On 11 May 1967, the office was re-designated to Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, in line with the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. It was first held by Sourendra Nath Kohli. The appointment was then in the two-star rank of rear admiral.[4] On 12 December 1967, Nilakanta Krishnan succeeded Kohli as VCNS, with the office being raised to the three-star rank of Vice-Admiral in March 1969.[5]
The VCNS heads the Staff Branch-I at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the VCNS.[6]
The VCNS ranks at No. 23 on the Indian order of precedence, along with the Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force and the Army Commanders (GOC-in-C), Naval Commanders (FOC-in-C) and Air Commanders (AOC-in-C).[7] The VCNS is at the Apex Pay grade (Grade 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,200).[8]
The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
| S.No. | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rear Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli | 11 May 1967 | 11 December 1967 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. | |
| 2 | Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, | 12 December 1967 | 20 February 1970 | Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[9] [10] | |
| 3 | 20 February 1970 | 26 February 1973 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[11] | ||
| 4 | 31 March 1973 | 31 March 1977 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[12] | ||
| 5 | 5 April 1977 | 28 February 1979 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[13] | ||
| 6 | 1 March 1979 | 31 March 1980 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[14] | ||
| 7 | 1 April 1980 | 1 March 1982 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[15] | ||
| 8 | Vice Admiral Sardari Lal Sethi | 1 March 1982 | 30 May 1983 | [16] [17] | |
| 9 | Vice Admiral Subimal Mookerjee | 31 May 1983 | 29 April 1984 | [18] | |
| 10 | 2 May 1984 | 27 November 1984 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[19] | ||
| 11 | Vice Admiral K. K. Nayyar | 28 November 1984 | 28 February 1986 | [20] | |
| 12 | 28 February 1986 | 30 November 1987 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[21] [22] | ||
| 13 | 8 December 1987 | 28 February 1989 | [23] | ||
| 14 | Vice Admiral S. C. Chopra | 28 February 1989 | 30 June 1990 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[24] | |
| 15 | Vice Admiral H. Johnson | 30 June 1990 | 31 December 1990 | [25] [26] | |
| 16 | Vice Admiral Suren P. Govil | 31 December 1990 | 31 October 1992 | [27] | |
| 17 | 31 October 1992 | 30 September 1993 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[28] | ||
| 18 | Vice Admiral S. K. Chand | 15 October 1993 | 30 November 1995 | [29] | |
| 19 | Vice Admiral Kailash K. Kohli | 30 November 1995 | 19 October 1996 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[30] | |
| 20 | 19 October 1996 | 31 March 1998 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[31] | ||
| 21 | Vice Admiral P. J. Jacob | 31 March 1998 | 28 February 2001 | [32] | |
| 22 | 1 March 2001 | 1 January 2002 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. | ||
| 23 | 1 January 2002 | 30 September 2003 | [33] | ||
| 24 | 17 October 2003 | 30 July 2004 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[34] | ||
| 25 | Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad | 30 July 2004 | 31 October 2005 | [35] | |
| 26 | Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan | 31 October 2005 | 30 November 2006 | [36] | |
| 27 | 30 November 2006 | 1 April 2008 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[37] | ||
| 28 | Vice Admiral R. P. Suthan | 30 April 2008 | 30 July 2009 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[38] | |
| 29 | Vice Admiral D. K. Dewan | 1 September 2009 | 30 August 2011 | [39] | |
| 30 | 31 August 2011 | 16 April 2014 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[40] [41] | ||
| 31 | 2 June 2014 | 30 March 2015 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[42] [43] | ||
| 32 | 31 March 2015 | 30 May 2016 | [44] [45] | ||
| 33 | 31 May 2016 | 30 October 2017 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[46] | ||
| 34 | 30 October 2017 | 30 January 2019 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.[47] | ||
| 35 | 30 January 2019 | 31 July 2021 | [48] | ||
| 36 | 31 July 2021 | 31 March 2023 | [49] | ||
| 37 | 1 April 2023 | 31 December 2023 | Present Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.[50] | ||
| 38 | 4 January 2024 | 30 April 2024 | Present Chief of the Naval Staff[51] | ||
| 39 | 1 May 2024 | Incumbent | [52] |
** Went on to become Chief of the Naval Staff.