# Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area

Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOMA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOMA has operational control of the flotilla and forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra and the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron. Apart from this, the FOMA is responsible for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Maharashtra. The current FOMA is Rear Admiral Anil Jaggi, who assumed office on 1 Sept 2024.

## History

On 1 April 1985, the upgradation of the post of Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC) Bombay was approved. It was upgraded from the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral and re-designated Flag Officer Bombay. The implementation of this happened in March 1987 and the appointment was designated Flag Officer Maharashtra (FOMA). The FOMA would have operational control of all forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra, and would be responsible for the administration of all establishments and units in Bombay.
In 1993, FOMA was operationalised and proceeded to sea in a flotilla of minor ships. The 22nd missile vessel squadron commanded by K22 was also brought under the FOMA. In 2008, the Maharashtra Naval Area was expanded to include Gujarat, Daman and Diu. The Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) headed the combined Naval area.
After a brief period, in 2015, to enhance the operational and administrative efficiency, the Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area was divided to make two separate headquarters under (FOMA) and the Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat Naval Area (FOGNA). The last Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area, Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar handed over command of the Maharashtra Area to Rear Admiral S. N. Ghormade.

## Organisation

The FOMA is assisted by the NOIC (Maharashtra) and the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters Gujarat Naval Area (HQMNA), both one-star appointments. The FOMA reports to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. The establishments under the FOMA include:
* Headquarters Maharashtra Naval Area (HQMNA)
* 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron (Killer squadron)
* The naval base INS Angre
* The missile battery base INS Trata
* The naval base INS Agnibahu
* Sagar Prahari Bal, Mumbai

## List of Commanders

| S.No. | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Notes |
| Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) |||||
| 1 | Rear Admiral S. W. Lakhkar NM, VSM | 23 March 1987 | 9 June 1987 | First FOMA. Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 2 | Rear Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat AVSM, VrC | 9 June 1987 | 8 August 1988 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 3 | Rear Admiral P. A. Debrass AVSM, NM | 8 August 1988 | 17 October 1989 | |
| 4 | Rear Admiral Sushil Kumar UYSM, NM | 17 October 1989 | 24 July 1991 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 5 | Rear Admiral V. K. Malhotra VSM | 24 July 1991 | 25 October 1992 | |
| 6 | Rear Admiral Vinod Pasricha NM | 25 October 1992 | 23 December 1993 | Later Commandant of the National Defence College and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. |
| 7 | Rear Admiral Gupteshwar Rai AVSM, NM, VSM | 23 December 1993 | 31 July 1995 | First Flag Officer Sea Training. |
| 8 | Rear Admiral Raman Puri AVSM, VSM | 31 July 1995 | 15 October 1997 | Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff. |
| 9 | Rear Admiral S. C. S. Bangara AVSM | 15 October 1997 | 21 October 1998 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. |
| 10 | Rear Admiral Ajit Tewari AVSM, NM | 21 October 1998 | 26 April 2000 | Later Chairman & Managing Director Hindustan Shipyard. |
| 11 | Rear Admiral Ravi Chander Kochhar AVSM, NM, VSM | 26 April 2000 | 26 February 2002 | |
| 12 | Rear Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma AVSM | 26 February 2002 | 28 November 2003 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 13 | Rear Admiral Mahendra Pratap Taneja AVSM, NM, VSM | 28 November 2003 | 23 May 2005 | |
| 14 | Rear Admiral I. K. Saluja AVSM, VSM | 24 May 2005 | 20 March 2006 | |
| 15 | Rear Admiral D. K. Dewan AVSM | 20 March 2006 | 17 March 2007 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 16 | Rear Admiral A. V. Kalaskar NM, VSM | 17 March 2007 | 24 January 2008 | |
| 17 | Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan NM | 24 January 2008 | 30 August 2008 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) |||||
| 18 | Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan NM | 1 September 2008 | 8 December 2008 | Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. |
| 19 | Rear Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee NM | 8 December 2008 | 31 August 2009 | Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command. |
| 20 | Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba | 31 August 2009 | 25 January 2011 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 21 | Rear Admiral Bimal Verma AVSM | 25 January 2011 | 31 May 2012 | Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command. |
| 22 | Rear Admiral Karambir Singh AVSM | 31 May 2012 | 19 August 2013 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 23 | Rear Admiral G. Ashok Kumar VSM | 19 August 2013 | 7 November 2014 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 24 | Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar VSM | 7 November 2014 | 21 October 2015 | Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) |||||
| 25 | Rear Admiral Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade NM | 21 October 2015 | 17 October 2016 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 26 | Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru NM | 17 October 2016 | 12 February 2018 | Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. |
| 27 | Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl VSM | 12 February 2018 | 25 March 2019 | Later Commandant of Indian Naval Academy. |
| 28 | Rear Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar AVSM, VSM | 12 February 2018 | 8 February 2020 | Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. |
| 29 | Rear Admiral Vennam Srinivas AVSM, VSM | 8 February 2020 | 22 February 2021 | Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. |
| 30 | Rear Admiral Atul Anand VSM | 22 February 2021 | 16 December 2021 | Current Additional secretary, Department of Military Affairs. |
| 31 | Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta VSM | 16 December 2021 | 18 November 2022 | |
| 32 | Rear Admiral A. N. Pramod | 18 November 2022 | 10 November 2023 | Current Director General Naval Operations. |
| 33 | Rear Admiral Manish Chadha VSM | 10 November 2023 | 1 September 2024 | |
| 34 | Rear Admiral Anil Jaggi | 1 September 2024 | Present | Current FOMA. |