Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India)
The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is the second-highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy and the deputy to the Chief of the navy. The VCNS is a PSO (Principal Staff Officer) at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi. The office is held by a Three Star Officer in the rank of Vice Admiral. He is responsible for the operation of naval related tasks as well as deputising for the Chief. The current VCNS is Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade who took over from Vice Admiral G. Ashok Kumar on 31  July 2021. History. Established on 11 May 1967, the office was first held by Sourendra Nath Kohli, subsequently appointed CNS. The appointment was then in the two-star rank of rear admiral. On 12 December 1967, Nilakanta Krishnan succeeded Kohli as VCNS, with the office being raised to the three-star rank of Vice-Admiral in March 1969. Organisation. The VCNS heads the Staff Branch-I at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the VCNS. Order of precedence. The VCNS ranks at No. 23 on the Indian order of precedence, along with  the Vice Chiefs of Staff of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force and the Army Commanders (GOC-in-C), Naval Commanders (FOC-in-C) and Air Commanders (AOC-in-C). The VCNS is at the Apex Pay grade (Grade 17), with a monthly pay of ₹225,000 (US$3,200). Appointees. The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Notes. <nowiki>**</nowiki> Went on to become Chief of the Naval Staff.