Indian Navy ranks and insignia

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).^[1]

Equivalent ranks of Indian military
Indian Navy	Indian Army	Indian Air Force
Commissioned ranks
Admiral of the fleet	Field marshal	Marshal of the Indian Air Force
Admiral	General	Air chief marshal
Vice admiral	Lieutenant general	Air marshal
Rear admiral	Major general	Air vice marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying officer
Junior commissioned ranks
Master chief petty officer 1st class	Subedar major[Alt 1]	Master warrant officer
Master chief petty officer 2nd class	Subedar[Alt 2]	Warrant officer
Chief petty officer	Naib subedar[Alt 3]	Junior warrant officer
Non-commissioned ranks
Petty officer	Havildar/Daffadar	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Naik/Lance-Daffadar	Corporal
Seaman 1	Lance naik/Acting Lance-Daffadar	Leading aircraftsman
Seaman 2	Sepoy/Sowar	Aircraftsman
Footnotes
Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments. Called jemadar until 1965.

History

The Indian Naval Ensign.

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.^[2]

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.^[2] 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.^[2] 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] Multiple sources indicated that the seven ranks of the PBOR cadre would be allotted Indian-origin names.^[5] In March 2024, R. Hari Kumar suggested that "seaman" be replaced with the gender-neutral "nausainik" (navy soldier).^[6]

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.^[5] 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.^[7]

Structure

Presently, the IN's rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories:

• Commissioned Officers (CO)
• Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO)
• Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO)

Commissioned officers

(Note: Rank insignia to be altered according to IN specifications.)

Rank group	General/flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Indian Navy[8] v t e
			Admiral एडमिरल		Vice admiral वाइस एडमिरल		Rear admiral रियर एडमिरल		Commodore कमोडोर		Captain कैप्टन		Commander कमांडर		Lieutenant commander लेफ़्टिनेंट कमांडर		Lieutenant लेफ्टिनेंट		Sub-lieutenant सब लेफ्टिनेंट			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).^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks

Rank group	Junior commissioned officers										Non commissioned officers																		Enlisted
Indian Navy[8][12] v t e																													No insignia
	Master chief petty officer I मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास						Master chief petty officer II मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर सेकेंड क्लास		Chief petty officer चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर		Petty officer पेटी ऑफिसर												Leading Seaman लीडिंग सीमैन						Seaman Ist class सीमैन फर्स्ट 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.^[13]

See also

• Comparative military ranks
• Indian Army ranks and insignia
• Indian Air Force ranks and insignia
• Coast Guard ranks and insignia of India
• Border Roads Organisation ranks and insignia of India
• Paramilitary forces ranks and insignia of India
• Police ranks and insignia of India

References

1. Chhina, Man Aman Singh (16 October 2023). "Military Digest: As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks, a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024.
2. "How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten's suggestions". optimizeias.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024.
3. Dongare, Akshay (10 December 2022). "Do away with ranks like petty officer to shed colonial legacies: Navy chief at Agenda Aaj Tak". India Today. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024.
4. "Indian Navy To Adopt Gender-Neutral Ranks After Opening Doors To Women". 9 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024.
5. Bedi, Rahul (5 December 2023). "What Veterans Think About PM Modi Announcing Change of Navy Epaulettes". thewire.in. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024.
6. "Navy submitted proposal to alter rank nomenclature after induction of women sailors: Admiral Hari Kumar". The Economic Times. 5 March 2024.
7. Dutta, Amrita Nayak (31 December 2023). "Navy unveils new epaulettes for Admirals: What are the changes, what do they signify?". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024.
8. "Ranks & Insignia". Join Indian Navy. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
9. "Ranks In Indian Navy – Insignia And Hierarchy". alpharegiment.com. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024.
10. Kesnur, Srikant B. (15 August 2020). "Remembering the Admiral who shed his vice and built the Navy". thedailyguardian.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023.
11. "IA has Field Marshal, IAF has Marshal of Indian Air Force, Indian Navy's glory deserves the honour of 'Admiral of the Fleet' rank". www.indiandefencereview.com. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024.
12. "Forwarding Nomenclature of Ranks in Navy" (PDF). 23 August 2011.
13. "New Cadre for Senior Sailors Formed" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 December 1968. Retrieved 17 January 2021.

External links

• Uniforminsignia.org (Indian Navy)