| Post: | Chief |
| Body: | Personnel |
| Flag: | Vice Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg |
| Flagsize: | 150 |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Vice Admiral |
| Incumbent: | Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla |
| Incumbentsince: | 10 May 2024 |
| Type: | Principal Staff Officer |
| Abbreviation: | C.O.P |
| Reports To: | Chief of the Naval Staff |
| Seat: | Naval Headquarters, New Delhi |
The Chief of Personnel (COP) in the Indian Navy is a senior appointment in the rank of Vice-Admiral. As a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) at Naval Headquarters (NHQ), the COP is responsible for personnel-related matters. The present COP is Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, who was appointed on 6 October 2023.
At the time of Independence of India, the COP was one of five PSOs at Naval headquarters. The appointment was held by an officer of the rank of Captain. On 24 September 1956, the appointment was upgraded to the rank of Commodore (Second Class).[1] The directorates of personnel services, training education, medical services, judge advocate general and the supply branch were under the COP.
In 1965, the appointment was further upgraded to Rear Admiral. Rear Admiral K. R. Nair was the first COP in this rank, when he took over on 17 August 1965.[2] The post was further upgraded to Vice Admiral in March 1973. During this re-organisation, an assistant PSO post was created - Assistant Chief of Personnel (ACOP) - a two-star appointment. In the 1980s, two new directorates were formed under the COP - Financial Planning (Non-public funds) in 1985 and Ex-Servicemen Affairs (DESA) in 1988.
The COP heads the Personnel Branch at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the COP.[3]
| S.No. | Name | Assumed office | Left office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodore Henry Richmond Inigo-Jones | January 1947 | August 1947 | Last British appointee.[4] | ||
| 1 | Captain Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman | August 1947 | February 1949 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[5] | |
| 2 | Captain Ram Dass Katari | February 1949 | 14 December 1951 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[6] [7] | |
| 3 | Captain Benjamin Abraham Samson | 14 December 1951 | June 1954 | [8] [9] | |
| 4 | Commodore Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda | September 1954 | November 1956 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[10] [11] | |
| 5 | Commodore Gyan Sarup Kapoor | February 1957 | 20 November 1959 | [12] | |
| 6 | Commodore Kesavapillai Ramkrishnan Nair (first tenure) | 20 November 1959 | 1963 | [13] [14] | |
| 7 | Commodore Douglas St. John Cameron | 1963 | June 1965 | [15] | |
| 8 | Rear Admiral Kesavapillai Ramkrishnan Nair (second tenure) | June 1965 | December 1967 | ||
| 9 | Rear Admiral Jal Cursetji | December 1967 | 20 February 1970 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[16] [17] [18] | |
| Commodore Elenjikal Chandy Kuruvila | 20 February 1970 | October 1970 | Officiating.[19] | ||
| 10 | Vice Admiral Rabindra Nath Batra | October 1970 | March 1976 | [20] [21] | |
| 11 | March 1976 | March 1977 | [22] | ||
| 12 | March 1977 | March 1979 | [23] [24] | ||
| 13 | 1 April 1979 | February 1981 | [25] | ||
| 14 | Vice Admiral Sardari Lal Sethi | February 1981 | 25 February 1982 | [26] | |
| 15 | 16 August 1982 | April 1984 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[27] [28] | ||
| 16 | Vice Admiral S. M. Gadihoke | 30 June 1984 | June 1988 | [29] [30] | |
| 17 | Vice Admiral Vasant Laxman Koppikar | 6 July 1988 | 1992 | [31] | |
| 18 | Vice Admiral R. B. Suri | 1992 | December 1994 | ||
| 19 | Vice Admiral Kailash K. Kohli | 5 January 1995 | 30 November 1995 | [32] | |
| 20 | 4 December 1995 | October 1996 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[33] [34] | ||
| 21 | Vice Admiral P. J. Jacob | 20 November 1996 | 31 March 1998 | [35] [36] | |
| 22 | March 1998 | March 1999 | [37] [38] | ||
| 23 | March 1999 | 3 October 2001 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[39] | ||
| 24 | Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh | 3 October 2001 | May 2002 | [40] [41] | |
| 25 | May 2002 | January 2003 | Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[42] | ||
| 26 | Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad | January 2003 | October 2003 | [43] | |
| 27 | Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan | October 2003 | August 2005 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[44] | |
| 28 | Vice Admiral S. K. Damle | August 2005 | July 2007 | [45] | |
| 29 | Vice Admiral D. K. Dewan | July 2007 | September 2009 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[46] | |
| 30 | Vice Admiral M. P. Muralidharan | September 2009 | January 2012 | [47] | |
| 31 | Vice Admiral Anurag Thapliyal | January 2012 | March 2013 | [48] | |
| 32 | March 2013 | 31 July 2015 | Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[49] | ||
| 33 | 24 August 2015 | 28 May 2016 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[50] | ||
| 34 | 28 May 2016 | 1 August 2018 | Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[51] | ||
| 35 | 1 August 2018 | 2 December 2019 | Current Chief of the Naval Staff.[52] | ||
| 36 | 2 December 2019 | 31 May 2021 | Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[53] | ||
| 37 | 1 June 2021 | 28 February 2023 | Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.[54] | ||
| 38 | 1 April 2023 | 6 October 2023 | [55] | ||
| 39 | 6 October 2023 | 30 April 2024 | [56] | ||
| 40 | 10 May 2024 | Present | [57] |