# Indian Navy ranks and insignia

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
The Indian Navy (IN), the naval component of the Indian Armed Forces follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile Royal Indian Navy (RIN).

## History
### 1947–2023

Upon the establishment of establishment of India's independence in 1947, the country became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations; nevertheless, the armed forces, namely, the British Indian Army (BIA), the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) and the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - under the helm of King George VI as the Commander-in-Chief, retained their respective pre-independence ranks and corresponding insignia.
In May 1949, Lord Mountbatten, the inaugural Governor-General of India and himself a naval officer, dispatched a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces, containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion's conversion to a republic. In the note, Mountbatten proposed that the future IN should retain its predecessor's nomenclature as much as possible - advocating the retention of the RIN's ranks, insignia and uniforms; the only exemption to these retentions was the force's naval ensign, which was modified to feature the Indian tricolor as a substitute for the Union Jack. In September 1949, Nehru forwarded the proposals to the country's minister of defence, Baldev Singh, recommending Mountbatten's suggestions, which were consequently enforced upon India's emergence as a republic on 26 January 1950.

### 2023 modifications

In December 2022, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, the IN's Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), proposed several alterations to the force's rank structure, namely, a proposal to drop the rank of Petty Officer and to integrate IN ranks with that of the IA and the IAF, reasoning the present rank nomenclature reflected of what was termed by several as a colonial mindset.
Following a review of the IN rank structure in October 2023, the IN announced that the rank nomenclature of the Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) cadre would be revised to reflect a gender-neutral perspective. Multiple sources indicated that the seven ranks of the PBOR cadre would be allotted Indian-origin names. In March 2024, R. Hari Kumar suggested that "seaman" be replaced with the gender-neutral "nausainik" (navy soldier).
Consequently, the revision plan was publicized during the IN's 2023 Navy Day celebrations, when prime minister Narendra Modi announced that the rank structure's designations would be retitled with domestic names to reflect Indian-origin traditions, while the shoulder board epaulettes worn by flag officers would be altered to bear the octagonal-shaped naval crest, which had been adopted by the IN the previous year. Accordingly, the alterations to the flag officer insignia were revealed later that month; notably, other observable emendations in the new insignia included the introduction of an Indian sword-cum-telescope design in lieu of the older sword-cum-baton design and a gold button embossed with a clear anchor in lieu of a fouled anchor.
In 2025 news came out reporting that the rollout of the new names had stalled.

### Structure

Presently, the IN's rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories:
* Commissioned Officers (CO)
* Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO)
* Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO)
Equivalent ranks of Indian military :
| Commission | Indian Navy | Indian Army | Indian Air Force |
| Commissioned | Admiral of the fleet | Field marshal | Marshal of the Indian Air Force |
| Commissioned | Admiral | General | Air chief marshal |
| Commissioned | Vice admiral | Lieutenant general | Air marshal |
| Commissioned | Rear admiral | Major general | Air vice marshal |
| Commissioned | Commodore | Brigadier | Air commodore |
| Commissioned | Captain | Colonel | Group captain |
| Commissioned | Commander | Lieutenant colonel | Wing commander |
| Commissioned | Lieutenant commander | Major | Squadron leader |
| Commissioned | Lieutenant | Captain | Flight lieutenant |
| Commissioned | Sub lieutenant | Lieutenant | Flying officer |
| Junior commissioned | Master chief petty officer 1st class | Subedar major | Master warrant officer |
| Junior commissioned | Master chief petty officer 2nd class | Subedar | Warrant officer |
| Junior commissioned | Chief petty officer | Naib subedar | Junior warrant officer |
| Non-commissioned | Petty officer | Havildar/Daffadar | Sergeant |
| Non-commissioned | Leading seaman | Naik/Lance daffadar | Corporal |
| Non-commissioned | Seaman 1 | Lance naik/Acting Lance-Daffadar | Leading aircraftsman |
| Non-commissioned | Seaman 2 | Sepoy/Sowar | Aircraftsman |
| ↑ Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments ↑ Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments ↑ Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments. Called jemadar until 1965. ||||

## Commissioned officers

(Rank insignia to be altered according to IN specifications)
| Rank group | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | General/flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |
| Indian Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Indian Navy vte | | | Admiral एडमिरल | Admiral एडमिरल | Vice admiral वाइस एडमिरल | Vice admiral वाइस एडमिरल | Rear admiral रियर एडमिरल | Rear admiral रियर एडमिरल | Commodore कमोडोर | Commodore कमोडोर | Captain कैप्टन | Captain कैप्टन | Commander कमांडर | Commander कमांडर | Lieutenant commander लेफ़्टिनेंट कमांडर | Lieutenant commander लेफ़्टिनेंट कमांडर | Lieutenant लेफ्टिनेंट | Lieutenant लेफ्टिनेंट | Sub-lieutenant सब लेफ्टिनेंट | Sub-lieutenant सब लेफ्टिनेंट | Sub-lieutenant सब लेफ्टिनेंट | Midshipman मिडशिपमैन | Midshipman मिडशिपमैन | Midshipman मिडशिपमैन |

### Command flags

| Adm | VAdm | RAdm | Cmde |
The highest rank in the IN's CO cadre is Admiral, a four-star rank, which is held exclusively by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). The rank was first awarded to then-Vice Admiral A. K. Chatterji in March 1968, following his appointment to the post of CNS; prior to him, CNS appointees belonged to the three-star rank of Vice Admiral. However, unlike the IA and the IAF, which both bear the honorary five-star ranks of Field Marshal (FM) and Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF) respectively, the IN does not have a correspondingly recognized equivalent, as no four-star admirals were deemed for promotion to five-star rank.

## Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks

| Rank group | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Constables | Constables | Constables | Constables | Constables | Constables | Constables | Constables |
| Indian Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia |
| Indian Navy vte | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास | Master chief petty officer II मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर सेकेंड क्लास | Master chief petty officer II मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर सेकेंड क्लास | Chief petty officer चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर | Chief petty officer चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर | Leading Seaman लीडिंग सीमैन | Leading Seaman लीडिंग सीमैन | Leading Seaman लीडिंग सीमैन | Leading Seaman लीडिंग सीमैन | | | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास | Seaman IInd class सीमैन सेकंड क्लास | Seaman IInd class सीमैन सेकंड क्लास |
Since 1950, the designation of Chief Petty Officer was the highest non-commissioned rank in IN's rank hierarchy until December 1968, when the designations of Master Chief Petty Officer I and Master Chief Petty Officer II were introduced.