Chief of the Naval Staff ( India ) - Wikipedia Chief of the Naval Staff ( India ) Chief of the Naval Staff ( India ) CNS Flag of the Chief of the Naval Staff Incumbent Admiral Sunil Lanba since 31 May 2016 Seat Central Secretariat Appointer The President of India Term length 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. Formation 1 April 1955 First holder Admiral Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey Deputy Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Karambir Singh The Chief of the Naval Staff is the commander and the highest - ranking officer in the Indian Navy. The position is abbreviated CNS in Indian Navy cables and communication, and usually held by a four - star officer in the rank of Admiral. The current CNS is Admiral Sunil Lanba. The 23rd Navy Chief, he took over from Admiral Robin K. Dhowan, who retired on 31 May 2016 after four decades of service from the navy. Contents 1 Office of the Chief of the Naval Staff 2 Appointees 2.1 Commander - in - Chief, Indian Navy ( 1950 - 1955 ) 2.2 Chiefs of the Naval Staff ( 1955 -- present ) 3 See also 4 References Office of the Chief of the Naval Staff The office of the Chief of the Naval Staff was created by The Commanders - In - Chief ( Change in Designation ) Act of the Indian Parliament in 1955, replacing the erstwhile office of the Commander - in - Chief, Indian Navy. The office is based at South Block in Raisina Hill. Appointments to the office are made by the President of India. The Chief of the Naval Staff generally reaches superannuation upon serving three years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. Appointees Commander - in - Chief, Indian Navy ( 1950 - 1955 ) No. Name Rank Photo Appointment Date Left Office Decorations Sir William Edward Parry Admiral 26 January 1950 13 October 1951 KCB Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey Admiral 13 October 1951 31 March 1955 KBE, CB, DSO & Bar Chiefs of the Naval Staff ( 1955 -- present ) No. Name Rank Photo Appointment Date Left Office Decorations Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey Admiral 1 April 1955 21 July 1955 KBE, CB, DSO & Bar Sir Stephen Hope Carlill Vice Admiral 21 July 1955 21 April 1958 KBE, CB, DSO Ram Dass Katari Vice Admiral 22 April 1958 4 June 1962 - Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Vice Admiral 4 June 1962 3 March 1966 - Adhar Kumar Chatterji Admiral 3 March 1966 28 February 1970 - 6 Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda Admiral 28 February 1970 28 February 1973 Padma Vibhushan, PVSM, AVSM 7 Sourendra Nath Kohli Admiral 1 March 1973 29 February 1976 Padma Bhushan, PVSM 8 Jal Cursetji Admiral 1 March 1976 1 March 1979 PVSM 9 Ronald Lynsdale Pereira Admiral 1 March 1979 28 February 1982 PVSM, AVSM 10 Oscar Stanley Dawson Admiral 1 March 1982 30 November 1984 PVSM, AVSM, ADC 11 Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani Admiral 1 December 1984 30 November 1987 PVSM, AVSM 12 Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Admiral 1 December 1987 30 November 1990 PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC 13 Laxminarayan Ramdas Admiral 1 December 1990 30 September 1993 PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC 14 Vijai Singh Shekhawat Admiral 1 October 1993 30 September 1996 PVSM, AVSM, VrC, ADC 15 Vishnu Bhagwat Admiral 1 October 1996 30 December 1998 PVSM, AVSM, ADC 16 Sushil Kumar Admiral 30 December 1998 29 December 2001 PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC 17 Madhvendra Singh Admiral 29 December 2001 31 July 2004 PVSM, AVSM, ADC 18 Arun Prakash Admiral 31 July 2004 31 October 2006 PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC 19 Sureesh Mehta Admiral 31 October 2006 31 August 2009 PVSM, AVSM, ADC 20 Nirmal Kumar Verma Admiral 31 August 2009 31 August 2012 PVSM, AVSM 21 Devendra Kumar Joshi Admiral 31 August 2012 26 February 2014 PVSM, AVSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC 22 Robin K Dhowan Admiral 17 April 2014 31 May 2016 PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC 23 Sunil Lanba Admiral 31 May 2016 To date PVSM, AVSM, ADC See also Chief of Air Staff ( India ) Chief of the Army Staff ( India ) References Jump up ^ `` Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC assumes command of Indian Navy ''. pib.nic.in. Government of India. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Admiral Sunil Lanba takes over as Chief of Naval Staff - The Economic Times ''. The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Commanders - In - Chief ( Change in Designation ) Act, 1955 ''. VakilNo1.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011. Jump up ^ Acting CNS from 26 February 2014 to 17 April 2014, with the rank of Vice-Admiral Military of India Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force Leadership Chief of the Army Staff Chief of the Naval Staff Chief of the Air Staff Topics History Academies Ranks and insignia Army Air Force Navy Special Forces Indian Peace Keeping Force Central Armed Police Forces Paramilitary forces Andaman and Nicobar Command Strategic Forces Command Nuclear Command Authority Ballistic missiles Weapons of mass destruction Defence Research and Development Organisation Ordnance Factories Board Territorial Army National Cadet Corps Wars and conflicts Indo - Pakistani wars 1947 1965 1971 Operation Polo Congo Crisis Operation Vijay Operation Trident Sino - Indian War Cho La incident Siachen conflict Blue Star Woodrose 1987 Sino - Indian skirmish Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Operation Cactus Kargil War Kashmir insurgency 2001 Bangladeshi - Indian border skirmish Operation Parakram Piracy off the coast of Somalia Army Navy Air Force Chief of the Naval Staff ( India ) 1955 -- present Sir Charles Thomas Mark Pizey * * Sir Stephen Hope Carlill * * Ram Dass Katari Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman Adhar Kumar Chatterji Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda Sourendra Nath Kohli Jal Cursetji Ronald Lynsdale Pereira Oscar Stanley Dawson Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Laxminarayan Ramdas Vijai Singh Shekhawat Vishnu Bhagwat Sushil Kumar Madhvendra Singh Arun Prakash Sureesh Mehta Nirmal Kumar Verma Devendra Kumar Joshi Robin K. Dhowan Sunil Lanba * * Seconded from the Royal Navy Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chief_of_the_Naval_Staff_(India)&oldid=797587063 '' Categories : Chiefs of Naval Staff ( India ) Navy chiefs of staff Hidden categories : Use Indian English from January 2014 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from October 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia हिन्दी ಕನ್ನಡ Edit links This page was last edited on 28 August 2017, at 01 : 38. About Wikipedia

Question: who is the chief of indian navy now
Answer: Admiral Sunil Lanba