New Delhi, Nov 1 : Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh assumed charge as the Indian Navy's Chief of Personnel and Vice Admiral B. Sivakumar as the 40th Chief of Materiel on Saturday, an official said.

Vice Admiral Singh, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (Khadakwasla), was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1990, an official statement said.

Having held several prestigious appointments, both afloat and ashore, he, as a specialist in Gunnery and Missiles, served onboard Indian Naval Ships Ranjit and Prahar. Vice Admiral Singh also has the distinction of being part of the commissioning crew of three indigenously constructed warships, viz, INS Brahmaputra as the Gunnery Officer, INS Shivalik as the Executive Officer, and INS Kochi as the Commanding Officer. He has also commanded INS Vidyut and INS Khukri.

He has been an instructor at INS Dronacharya (Gunnery School) and the Deputy Commandant of Naval War College, Goa. His staff tenures include Assistant Chief of Personnel (HRD) and in the Directorate of Naval Intelligence in NHQ, and also the Indian Naval Work-up Team.

He took over as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet in November 2022. During this tenure, the fleet maintained a high tempo of operational preparedness with a focus on the mission of 'Ordnance on Target'.

On elevation to the rank of Vice Admiral in January 2024, he was appointed as Controller Personnel Services, wherein various initiatives were undertaken to improve working conditions of personnel and the naval community. Prior to assuming charge as Chief of Personnel, he was the Commandant of the NDA.

Vice Admiral Singh was awarded the Admiral Katari Trophy for standing 'First in Overall Order of Merit' of his batch during ab initio training. Under his command, INS Khukri was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff's 'Unit Citation' in December 2011 for overall operational effectiveness and successful conduct of anti-piracy operations. He has also been awarded the FOC-in-C Commendation (2002), the Nausena Medal (2020), and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2024).

His academic qualifications include an MSc and MPhil (Defence & Strategic Studies). In addition to the Staff Course at DSSC Wellington, Higher Command at Naval War College, and NDC courses in India, he has attended the Maritime Intelligence Course at National Intelligence University (NIU), Washington, and the United Nations Staff Officers Course (UNSOC) at Stockholm, Sweden.

Vice Admiral Sivakumar is an alumnus of the 70th Course, NDA and was commissioned as an Electrical Officer into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1987.

Holding a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Chennai, he is a post-graduate in Higher Defence Management from the Osmania University, M. Phil from Madras University and is an alumnus of the National Defence College.

During his distinguished and illustrious service of over 38 years, Vice Admiral Sivakumar has held various key appointments in the Naval Headquarters, HQ ATVP, Naval Dockyards and Command Headquarters. He has served onboard frontline warships, Indian Navy ships Ranjit, Kirpan and Akshay, and has commanded the premier Electrical Training Base, INS Valsura.

/IANS