# Director General of the Indian Coast Guard

The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard. The DG ICG has their office in the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) in New Delhi. Appointed by the Government of India, the DG ICG reports to the Minister of Defence. The Director General is assisted by four Deputy Directors General, each holding the rank of inspector-general, and other senior officers heading various staff divisions. The Additional Director General of the ICG serves as the second-in-command to the Director General.
The post of Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is held by a three-star rank holder as a position and is not a rank in itself. It is equivalent to Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy, Lieutenant General of the Indian Army, Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force, and the Director General of Central Armed Police Forces/State Police Forces. The rank of Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to that of a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.
Paramesh Sivamani is the current Director General of the Indian Coast Guard who assumed the office after Rakesh Pal died on 18th August 2024 following a cardiac arrest.

## History

The Indian Coast Guard came into being on 19 August 1978. The new service was to function under the overall command and control of a Director general. Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath, deputed from the Indian Navy, served as the first DG ICG. Appointed on 19 August 1978, he served in the capacity until 31 March 1980. Until 2016, appointees to the DG position were Officers of the Indian Navy deputed to the Coast Guard.
Three direct entry Coast Guard officers have gone on to head the service. While two previous Directors General have come from the Coast Guard stream –Rameshwar Singh and P. Paleri – they have all initially been commissioned into the Indian Navy before later being permanently deputed to the Coast Guard service.

## Additional responsibilities

Apart from heading the Coast Guard, the DGICG is also:
* Chairman, National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB)
* Chairman, National Oil-spill Disaster Contingency Plan Committee (NOSDCP)
* Chairman, Offshore Security Co-ordination Committee (OSCC), of which the Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group is a member.
* Indian Governor to Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP)

## Insignia

The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over three eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. The Director General wears gorget patches which are navy blue patches with three golden stars and oak leaves under the three golden stars. In addition to this, the double-breasted reefer jacket has three golden sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with two narrower bands.

## List of Directors General

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
| 1 | Kamath, V. A.Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath PVSM (1921–2017) | 19 August 1978 | 31 March 1980 | 1 year, 225 days |
| 2 | Parkash, SwarajVice Admiral Swaraj Parkash PVSM, MVC, AVSM (1923–2004) | 1 April 1980 | 31 March 1982 | 1 year, 364 days |
| 3 | Schunker, M. R.Vice Admiral M. R. Schunker PVSM, AVSM (1924–2021) | 1 April 1982 | 31 March 1984 | 1 year, 365 days |
| 4 | Jain, S.Vice Admiral S. Jain | 19 June 1984 | 14 February 1985 | 240 days |
| 5 | Khurana, I. J. S.Vice Admiral I. J. S. Khurana | 15 February 1985 | 30 June 1987 | 2 years, 135 days |
| 6 | Johnson, H.Vice Admiral H. Johnson | 10 July 1987 | 27 June 1990 | 2 years, 352 days |
| 7 | Lakhar, S. W.Vice Admiral S. W. Lakhar | 28 June 1990 | 31 August 1992 | 2 years, 64 days |
| 8 | Kohli, K. K.Vice Admiral K. K. Kohli | 5 October 1992 | 3 January 1995 | 2 years, 90 days |
| 9 | Jacob, P. J.Vice Admiral P. J. Jacob | 4 January 1995 | 17 November 1996 | 1 year, 318 days |
| 10 | Ganesh, R. N.Vice Admiral R. N. Ganesh | 18 November 1996 | 4 March 1999 | 2 years, 106 days |
| 11 | Silva, John Colin DeVice Admiral John Colin De Silva PVSM, AVSM (1943–2019) | 5 March 1999 | 6 March 2001 | 2 years, 1 day |
| 12 | Singh, RameshwarVice Admiral Rameshwar Singh | 7 March 2001 | 29 September 2001 | 206 days |
| 13 | Bansal, O. P.Vice Admiral O. P. Bansal | 30 September 2001 | 12 January 2003 | 1 year, 104 days |
| 14 | Pizey, CharlesVice Admiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM, AVSM (born 1947) | 13 January 2003 | 19 August 2004 | 1 year, 219 days |
| 15 | Singh, A. K.Vice Admiral A. K. Singh | 20 August 2004 | 24 February 2006 | 1 year, 188 days |
| 16 | Paleri, PrabhakaranDirector General Prabhakaran Paleri | 28 February 2006 | 31 August 2006 | 184 days |
| 17 | Pizey, CharlesVice Admiral R. F. Contractor AVSM, NM | 31 August 2006 | 30 November 2008 | 2 years, 91 days |
| 18 | Chopra, AnilVice Admiral Anil Chopra PVSM, AVSM | 1 December 2008 | 29 October 2011 | 2 years, 332 days |
| 19 | Muralidharan, M. P.Vice Admiral M. P. Muralidharan | 1 November 2011 | 28 February 2013 | 1 year, 119 days |
| 20 | Thapliyal, AnuragVice Admiral Anurag Thapliyal | 1 March 2013 | 31 January 2015 | 1 year, 336 days |
| 21 | Bisht, HarishVice Admiral Harish Bisht PVSM, AVSM (born 1957) | 1 February 2015 | 28 February 2016 | 27 days |
| 22 | Singh, RajendraRajendra Singh Bisht PTM, TM (born 1959) | 1 March 2016 | 30 June 2019 | 3 years, 121 days |
| 23 | Natarajan, KrishnaswamyKrishnaswamy Natarajan PVSM, PTM, TM (born 1961) | 1 July 2019 | 31 December 2021 | 2 years, 183 days |
| 24 | Pathania, Virender SinghVirender Singh Pathania PVSM, PTM, TM (born 1963) | 31 December 2021 | 31 January 2023 | 1 year, 31 days |
| 25 | Pal, RakeshRakesh Pal AVSM, PTM, TM (1965–2024) | 19 July 2023 | 18 August 2024 † | 1 year, 30 days |
| 26 | Paramesh SivamaniParamesh Sivamani AVSM, PTM, TM (born 1965) | 15 October 2024 | | 117 days |
† - Died in office