| Post: | Commandant |
| Body: | the National Defence Academy |
| Incumbent: | Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh |
| Incumbentsince: | 25 May 2024 |
| Type: | Military |
| Status: | Active |
| Residence: | Commandant's Residence, National Defence Academy |
| Seat: | National Defence Academy |
| Formation: | 1 January 1949 |
| First: | Major General Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO |
| Deputy: | Rear Admiral S K Grewal, NM, VSM |
The Commandant of the National Defence Academy is the head and overall in-charge of the National Defence Academy. The Commandant of the Academy is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. He is supported by the Deputy Commandant (a Two-star rank appointment),[1] Brigadier Administration (Brig Adm),[2] Principal Director (Training)[3] (both One-Star appointments), a Civilian Principal[4] and the Adjutant (An Officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel).[5]
Commissioned as Joint Services Wing (JSW), the interim training academy was set up at the Indian Military Academy (IMA). The first Commandant of JSW was Major General Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO. The present-day National Defence Academy was constructed in Pune and was formally commissioned on 7 December 1954 as the successor to JSW of IMA. The program of JSW was transferred from IMA to NDA. Major General Enaith Habibullah was the last head of the JSW and the First Commandant of NDA at Pune.[6]
| S.No. | Name | Branch | Assumed office | Left office | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major General Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO | 1 January 1949 | 12 March 1950 | First head of JSW at IMA | ||
| 2 | Major General K S Thimayya, DSO | 13 March 1950 | 17 June 1951 | Later served as the Chief of Army Staff of Indian Army | ||
| 3 | Major General Mohinder Singh Wadalia | 16 Jun 1951 | 6 January 1953 | [7] | ||
| 4 | 7 January 1953 | 6 December 1954 | Last head of JSW at IMA[8] |
| S.No. | Name | Branch | Assumed office | Left office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major General Enaith Habibullah | 7 December 1954 | 26 December 1958 | First Commandant at NDA, Khadakwasla | |
| 2 | 27 December 1958 | 1 January 1963 | First non-army and also the first Naval Officer to be the Commandant. Later Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet (FOCIF). | ||
| 3 | Air Vice Marshal K L Sondhi | 6 January 1963 | 25 September 1963 | First Air Force Officer to be the Commandant. | |
| 4 | Major General R Bakhshi, MC | 26 September 1963 | 8 August 1966 | ||
| 5 | Air Vice Marshal S N Goyal | 9 August 1966 | 18 June 1968 | ||
| 6 | Rear Admiral R N Batra | 19 June 1968 | 05 October 1970 | ||
| 7 | Major General S D Gupta | 16 October 1970 | 1 January 1973 | ||
| 8 | Air Vice Marshal M B Naik | 3 January 1973 | 7 March 1976 | ||
| 9 | 8 March 1976 | 22 July 1977 | Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. | ||
| 10 | Major General R K Jasbir Singh | 22 July 1977 | 21 May 1979 | ||
| 11 | Air Marshal M J Dotiwalla | 9 July 1979 | 30 June 1982 | First three-star air force officer (Air Marshal) to be the commandant. | |
| 12 | Rear Admiral R P Sawhney | 1 July 1982 | 15 August 1985 | First Ex-NDA commandant. Alumnus of the first NDA (JSW) Course. | |
| 13 | Lieutenant General Sami Khan, PVSM, SM | 16 August 1985 | 2 November 1986 | First three-star army officer (Lieutenant General) to be the commandant. Later served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command. | |
| 14 | Lieutenant General K L K Singh | 12 December 1986 | 28 June 1988 | ||
| 15 | Air Marshal D S Sabhikhi, AVSM | 29 June 1988 | 31 August 1991 | ||
| 16 | Vice Admiral Inderjit Bedi, AVSM | 1 September 1991 | 11 October 1993 | First three-star naval officer (Vice Admiral) to be the commandant. Later served as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. | |
| 17 | Lieutenant General S K Jetley, AVSM, SM | 12 October 1993 | 24 March 1995 | ||
| 18 | Air Marshal A S Sethi, ADC | 25 March 1995 | 31 January 1996 | ||
| 19 | Air Marshal J S Rai, VM & bar | 1 February 1996 | 9 June 1997 | ||
| 20 | Vice Admiral Arun Prakash, AVSM, VrC, VSM | 31 July 1997 | 19 March 1999 | Later served as the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy | |
| 21 | Lieutenant General S B S Kochar, PVSM, AVSM | 12 April 1999 | 31 March 2001 | ||
| 22 | Air Marshal A K Trikha, AVSM, VSM | 1 April 2001 | 31 December 2002 | ||
| 23 | Vice Admiral S C S Bangara, PVSM, AVSM | 01 January 2003 | 24 July 2004 | ||
| 24 | 4 August 2004 | 30 November 2006 | |||
| 25 | Air Marshal T S Randhawa, VM | 1 December 2006 | 31 December 2008 | ||
| 26 | Vice Admiral R K Dhowan, AVSM, YSM | 1 January 2009 | 29 November 2009 | Later served as the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. | |
| 27 | Vice Admiral Satish Soni, AVSM, NM | 29 November 2009 | 1 January 2011 | Later served as the FOC-in-C of Southern and Eastern Commands of Indian Navy. | |
| 28 | 1 January 2011 | 5 July 2012 | Removed from the position. Accused of being involved in recruitment scandal.[9] | ||
| 29 | 7 August 2012 | 31 December 2012 | Later served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command.[10] | ||
| 30 | 1 January 2013 | 31 July 2014 | Later served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Air Command.[11] | ||
| 31 | Air Marshal R K S Bhadauria, AVSM, VM | 1 August 2014 | 31 January 2015 | Later served as Chief of the Air Staff[12] | |
| 32 | Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, AVSM, VSM | 1 April 2015 | 2 June 2016 | Later served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff | |
| 33 | Air Marshal Jasjit Singh Kler AVSM, VM | 20 June 2016 | 31 March 2018 | ||
| 34 | Air Marshal Vipin Indira Panabhan Nayar, VM | 7 April 2018 | 14 December 2019 | Later Commandant of the Air Force Academy.[13] | |
| 35 | Lieutenant General Asit Mistry, AVSM, SM, VSM | 1 February 2020 | 31 October 2021 | ||
| 36 | 01 November 2021 | 31 March 2022 | Later Commandant of the Air Force Academy.[14] | ||
| 37 | 1 April 2022 | 24 May 2024 | Current Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command.[15] | ||
| 38 | 25 May 2024 | Present | [16] | ||
Army - 16
Navy - 12
Air Force - 14