# Commandant of the National Defence College

The Commandant of the National Defence College in India is the overall in-charge of all the functioning of the National Defence College including academics and administration. The Commandant of the college is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation for a term of two years.

## History

In July 1959, Lieutenant General Kanwar Bahadur Singh was appointed the first Commandant of the college. By the end of the year, he formulated detailed plans including the aim and the charter of NDC as well as the scope of studies at the college. The Chiefs of Staff cleared approved them on December 25, 1959.

## Organisation

The Commandant is supported by seven Senior Directing Staff (3 from the Indian Army and 1 each from the Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Civil Service and the Foreign Service). Administration is looked after by the Secretary under the Commandant and is supported by a number of Staff Officers.

## List of Commandants

| S.No | Name | Branch | Assumed office | Left office | Notes |
| 1 | Lieutenant General Kanwar Bahadur Singh MBE | Indian Army | July 1959 | January 1964 | First Commandant of NDC |
| 2 | Vice Admiral A K Chatterji | Indian Navy | January 1964 | January 1966 | Later served as the Chief of the Naval Staff |
| 3 | Air Marshal R Rajaram DFC | Indian Air Force | January 1966 | December 1966 | Later served as Vice Chief of the Air Staff. Died in harness while VCAS. |
| 4 | Lieutenant General M M Khanna MVC | Indian Army | December 1966 | November 1968 | |
| 5 | Vice Admiral S N Kohli PVSM | Indian Navy | November 1968 | April 1971 | Served as Western Naval Commander during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and later served as Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy |
| 6 | Air Marshal H Moolgavkar PVSM, MVC | Indian Air Force | April 1971 | April 1973 | Served as the Central Air Commander and Western Air Commander before taking over as the 9th Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force |
| 7 | Lieutenant General M N Batra PVSM | Indian Army | April 1973 | January 1975 | First ex-NDC Commandant |
| 8 | Vice Admiral S H Sarma PVSM | Indian Navy | January 1975 | January 1977 | Served as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF) during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and later served as Eastern Naval Commander |
| 9 | Air Marshal T N Ghadiok PVSM, AVSM, VrC | Indian Air Force | February 1977 | December 1978 | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General WAG Pinto PVSM | Indian Army | January 1979 | January 1980 | Later served as the Central Army Commander |
| 11 | Air Marshal D G Kinglee PVSM, AVSM | Indian Air Force | September 1980 | September 1982 | Later served as the Central Air Commander |
| 12 | Vice Admiral R V Aarte AVSM | Indian Navy | September 1982 | August 1984 | |
| 10 | Lieutenant General Himmeth Singh PVSM | Indian Army | September 1984 | June 1986 | |
| 13 | Air Marshal P K Puri PVSM, AVSM | Indian Air Force | July 1986 | August 1988 | |
| 14 | Vice Admiral S P Govil PVSM, AVSM | Indian Navy | September 1988 | September 1990 | Later served as Vice Chief of Naval Staff |
| 15 | Lieutenant General K S Khajuria PVSM | Indian Army | September 1990 | June 1992 | |
| 16 | Air Marshal S Kulkarni PVSM, VM | Indian Air Force | July 1992 | January 1995 | |
| 17 | Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha PVSM, AVSM, NM | Indian Navy | January 1995 | December 1996 | Later served as Eastern Naval Commander and Western Naval Commander |
| 18 | Lieutenant General SRR Aiyengar PVSM, AVSM, VSM | Indian Army | January 1997 | April 1999 | Later served as Commandant of Defence Services Staff College |
| 19 | Air Marshal V G Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VM | Indian Air Force | April 1999 | March 2001 | |
| 20 | Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad PVSM, AVSM, VSM | Indian Navy | April 2001 | December 2002 | Later served as Southern Naval Commander and thereafter the Vice Chief of Naval Staff |
| 21 | Lieutenant General S S Chahal PVSM, AVSM, VSM | Indian Army | December 2002 | June 2004 | |
| 22 | Lieutenant General Tej Pathak AVSM, YSM & Bar | Indian Army | July 2004 | December 2004 | |
| 23 | Air Marshal P P Raj Kumar PVSM, AVSM | Indian Air Force | January 2005 | December 2006 | Later served as the Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command and thereafter Central Air Commander |
| 24 | Vice Admiral Pradeep Kaushiva UYSM, VSM | Indian Navy | December 2006 | September 2007 | |
| 25 | Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin PVSM, AVSM, VSM | Indian Navy | September 2007 | December 2008 | Later served as the Western Naval Commander |
| 26 | Lieutenant General Prakash Menon AVSM, VSM | Indian Army | January 2009 | December 2010 | |
| 27 | Air Marshal P K Roy AVSM, VM, VSM | Indian Air Force | January 2011 | November 2012 | Later served as Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command |
| 28 | Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba AVSM | Indian Navy | December 2012 | June 2014 | Later served as the Chief of the Naval Staff |
| 29 | Lieutenant General N S Ghei PVSM, AVSM & Bar | Indian Army | June 2014 | December 2016 | |
| 30 | Lieutenant General Y V K Mohan SM, VSM | Indian Army | January 2017 | January 2018 | Later served as Commandant of Defence Services Staff College |
| 31 | Vice Admiral Srikant AVSM | Indian Navy | January 2018 | 16 December 2019 | Later died in harness of COVID-19. |
| 32 | Air Marshal Diptendu Choudhury AVSM, VM, VSM | Indian Air Force | 16 December 2019 | 30 October 2021 | |
| 33 | Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Mago YSM, SM & Bar | Indian Army | 31 October 2021 | 31 December 2022 | |
| 34 | Lieutenant General Sukriti Singh Dahiya SM and Bar, VSM | Indian Army | 1 January 2023 | 30 April 2024 | |
| 35 | Air Marshal Hardeep Bains AVSM, VSM | Indian Air Force | 1 May 2024 | Present | |

### List of Commandants by branches of service

Army - 14 Navy - 11 Air Force - 10