Director General of the Indian Coast Guard

The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard. The DG ICG has their office in the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) in New Delhi. Appointed by the Government of India, the DG ICG reports to the Minister of Defence. The Director General is assisted by four Deputy Directors General, each holding the rank of inspector-general, and other senior officers heading various staff divisions. The Additional Director General of the ICG serves as the second-in-command to the Director General.

Director General of the
Indian Coast Guard
Flag of Indian Coast Guard
Incumbent
Krishnaswamy Natarajan, PVSM, PTM, TM
since 1 July 2019
 Indian Coast Guard
AbbreviationDG ICG
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatCoast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi
AppointerAppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
Formation19 August 1978
First holderVice Admiral V. A. Kamath, PVSM
DeputyAdditional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ADG ICG)
WebsiteDG ICG

The post of Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is held by a three-star rank holder as a position and is not a rank in itself. It is equivalent to Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy, Lieutenant General of the Indian Army and the Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force.[1][lower-alpha 1] The rank of Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to that of a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.[2][3][lower-alpha 2]

History

The Indian Coast Guard came into being on 19 August 1978. The new service was to function under the overall command and control of a Director general.[4] Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath, deputed from the Indian Navy, served as the first DG ICG. Appointed on 19 August 1978, he served in the capacity until 31 March 1980.[5] Until 2016, appointees to the DG position were Officers of the Indian Navy deputed to the Coast Guard.

The current office holder, Krishnaswamy Natarajan, is the second direct entry Coast Guard officer to head the service. While two previous Directors General have come from the Coast Guard stream – such as Rameshwar Singh and P. Paleri – they have all initially been commissioned into the Indian Navy before later being permanently deputed to the Coast Guard service.[6]

Krishnaswamy Natarajan, is the current Director General of the Indian Coast Guard who assumed the office after Rajendra Singh retired. The Flag officer is the second direct entry Coast Guard officer who took over the helm of Indian Coast Guard on 30 Jun 19 as 23rd Director General.

Additional responsibilities

Apart from heading the Coast Guard, the DGICG is also:[7]

  • Chairman, National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB)
  • Chairman, National Oil-spill Disaster Contingency Plan Committee (NOSDCP)
  • Chairman, Offshore Security Co-ordination Committee (OSCC), of which the Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group is a member.
  • Indian Governor to Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP)

Insignia

The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over three eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. The Director General wears gorget patches which are navy blue patches with three golden stars and oak leaves under the three golden stars. In addition to this, the double-breasted reefer jacket has three golden sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with two narrower bands.

List of Directors General
NoNameImageAppointment dateLeft officeNotes
1Vice Admiral
V. A. Kamath		19 August 197831 March 1980
  • First holder of the position of DG ICG.
  • Prior to his appointment as the DG ICG, he served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
  • Member of the Rustamji Committee, the committee appointed to suggest measures for the creation of Indian Coast Guard.[8]
2Vice Admiral
Swaraj Parkash		1 April 198031 March 1982Earlier served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command and Vice Chief of Naval Staff.[8]
3Vice Admiral
M. R. Schunker		1 April 198231 March 1984Earlier served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command and Vice Chief of Naval Staff.[8]
4Vice Admiral
S. Jain		19 June 198414 February 1985Later served as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[8]
5Vice Admiral
I. J. S. Khurana		15 February 198530 June 1987[8]
6Vice Admiral
H. Johnson		10 July 198727 June 1990Later served as Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.[8]
7Vice Admiral
S. W. Lakhar		28 June 199031 August 1992[8]
8Vice Admiral
K. K. Kohli		5 October 19923 January 1995Earlier served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[8]
9Vice Admiral
P. J. Jacob		4 January 199517 November 1996Later served as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[8]
10Vice Admiral
R. N. Ganesh		18 November 19964 March 1999Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[8]
11Vice Admiral
John Colin De Silva		5 March 19996 March 2001Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command and Vice Chief of Naval Staff.[8]
12Director General
Rameshwar Singh		7 March 200129 September 2001[9]
13Vice Admiral
O. P. Bansal		30 September 200112 January 2003Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[10]
14Vice Admiral
Sureesh Mehta		13 January 200319 August 2004Later served as the Chief of the Naval Staff of India.[11][12]
15Vice Admiral
A. K. Singh		20 August 200424 February 2006Later served as the Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command and as the FOC-in-C of the Eastern Naval Command.[13]
16Director General
Prabhakaran Paleri		28 February 200631 August 2006[14]
17Vice Admiral
R. F. Contractor		31 August 200630 November 2008[15]
18Vice Admiral
Anil Chopra		1 December 200829 October 2011Later served as the FOC-in-C of the Western and the Eastern Naval Commands.[16][17][18]
19Vice Admiral
M. P. Muralidharan		1 November 201128 February 2013Prior to his appointment as the DG ICG, he served as the Chief of Personnel at the IHQ of MoD (Navy) and as the first Commandant of Indian Naval Academy.[19][20]
20Vice Admiral
Anurag G. Thapliyal		1 March 201331 January 2015Prior to his appointment as the DG ICG, he served as the Commandant of Indian Naval Academy.[21][22]
21Vice Admiral
Harish Bisht		1 February 201528 February 2016Later served as the FOC-in-C of the Eastern Naval Command.[23][24]
22Director General
Rajendra Singh		1 March 201630 June 2019The first regular Coast Guard officer to be appointed the Director General. He is the Indian Governor to the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre at Singapore. He is also Chairman of the National Maritime SAR Board and Offshore Security Coordination Committee.[25][26]
23Director General
Krishnaswamy Natarajan		1 July 2019presentAssumed office on 1 July 2019 as the next Director General of the Indian Coast Guard after Director General Rajendra Singh retired[27]

Notes

Footnotes

  1. FOC-in-C: Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, GOC-in-C: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, AOC-in-C: Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
  2. In the Indian Armed Forces, three-star ranks fall into three categories, namely: HAG Scale, HAG+ Scale, and Commanders (GOC-in-C /FOC-in-C /AOC-in-C) Scale. HAG Scale stands at the bottom, whereas the Commanders Scale is the highest.[2]

References
  1. "CG Organisation: Indian Coast Guard". Indian Coast Guard. Government of India. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  2. "Indian Coast Guard Explained in Detail". Naval Journey. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. "Indian Coast Guard gets new director-general: All about it". India Today. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. "COAST GUARD TO BE FORMED IN AUGUST" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 29 June 1978.
  5. "VICE ADMIRAL SWARAJ PARKASH TAKES OVER AS DIRECTOR GENERAL COAST GUARD" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 31 March 1980.
  6. "Rajendra Singh first non-navy officer to head Coast Guard". Zee News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  7. Singh 2018, p. 285.
  8. Hiranandani 2010, p. 40.
  9. "New appointee cleared of sexual battery charge". The Hindu. 24 March 2001. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  10. "New Vice-Chief of Army Staff". The Hindu. 2 October 2001. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  11. "Admiral Sureesh Mehta". Bharat Rakshak. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  12. "Vice-Admiral Sureesh Mehta appointed navy chief". Rediff. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  13. "Vice Admiral A. K. Singh new Eastern Naval Command chief". Zee News. 25 October 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  14. "Paleri takes over as Coast Guard chief". The Hindu. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  15. Reddy 2007, p. 132.
  16. "Anil Chopra is new Coast Guard Director General". News 18. 30 November 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  17. "Vice Admiral Anil Chopra appointed as FOC-in-C, Eastern Naval Command". Net Indian. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  18. "Vice Admiral Anil Chopra takes over as Western Naval Commander". Times of India. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  19. "Vice Admiral M. P. Muralidharan took charge as the 19th Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard". Jagran. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  20. "Vice-Admiral Muralidharan to be Chief of Personnel". The Hindu. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  21. "Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal is the New Director General of Indian Coast Guard". Jagran Josh. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  22. "Vice Admiral Anurag G. Thapliyal takes over as new DG Indian Coast Guard". SP's Military, Aerospace & Internal Security. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  23. "Vice-Admiral Bisht to be new Coast Guard DG". Times of India. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  24. "Vice Admiral HCS Bisht takes over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command". Press Information Bureau of India. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  25. "Rajendra Singh is the new Coast Guard chief". 27 February 2016.
  26. "Indian Coast Guard Gets New Director General" (PDF). Indian Coast Guard. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  27. "K Natarajan takes over as Director General of Coast Guard".

Bibliography
  • "Director General: Indian Coast Guard". Indian Coast Guard. Government of India. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  • Hiranandani, Gulab Mohanlal (2010), Transition to Guardianship: The Indian Navy 1991–2000, Lancer Publishers LLC, ISBN 978-1-935501-66-4
  • Reddy, Krishna (2007), Tmh General Knowledge Manual, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, ISBN 978-0-07-061999-9
  • Singh, Anup (2018), Blue Waters Ahoy!, The Indian Navy 2001-2010, HarperCollins Publishers India, ISBN 9789353025526
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