Chief of the Naval Staff (India)
| Chief of the Naval Staff | |
|---|---|
| Indian Navy | |
| Status | Professional head of naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. |
| Abbreviation | CNS |
| Member of | National Security Council Defence Planning Committee Defence Acquisition Council |
| Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India Minister of Defence Chief of Defence Staff |
| Seat | Integrated HQ of MoD (Navy), South Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi |
| Appointer | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) President of India |
| Term length | 3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier. |
| Constituting instrument | Navy Act, 1957 (Act No. 62 of 1957) |
| Precursor | Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy |
| Formation | 26 January 1950 |
| First holder | Vice-Admiral Edward Parry |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of the Naval Staff |
| Salary | ₹250,000 (US$3,000) monthly |
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The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) is a statutory office held by the professional head of the Indian Navy (IN), the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Customarily held by a four-star admiral, the CNS is the senior-most operational officer of the IN, tasked with the roles of overseeing the force's overall functioning during states of peace and conflict, along with the realization of India's strategic maritime objectives, namely, the defence of the country's sovereignty against maritime threats and the security of international sea lines in the Indo-Pacific.
Being a permanent member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the National Security Council (NSC), the CNS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Government of India on all matters privy to the IN.
Statutorily, the CNS ranks 12th-overall in the Indian order of precedence, and is the IN's status-equivalent of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff - all three positions of which are also occupied by four-star officers from the armed forces.