Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area

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Flag Officer Commanding
Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area
(FOTNA)
Flag of the FOTNA (Rear Admiral's flag)
Incumbent
Rear Admiral Ravi Kumar Dhingra, VSM
since 25 April 2023
Indian Navy
AbbreviationFOTNA
Reports toFlag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command
SeatChennai
First holderRear Admiral Alok Bhatnagar (as FOTNA)

Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area (FOTNA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOTNA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOTNA is responsible for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. The Current FOTNA is Rear Admiral Ravi Kumar Dhingra, VSM, who assumed office on 25 April 2023.

History[edit]

A Naval office was set up in Chennai in the early 1940s. The first Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC) was Captain R. A. Malhuish. In 1946, the NOIC was re-designated Resident Naval Officer (RNO). With INS Adyar being recommissioned in 1954, the strength of the naval base grew and in 1968, the RNO was designated NOIC (Madras), and was responsible to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. The NOIC (Madras) also discharged the duties of Commanding Officer INS Adyar.[1]

With increasing responsibilities, a new appointment of NOIC (Tuticorin) was created in December 1994. The Commanding Officer INS Kattabomman dual-hatted as the NOIC(T) with the responsibility of local naval defence along the coast from the Gulf of Mannar up to Kerala. The units and installations along the coast in the Bay of Bengal up to the Pamban Pass was under the NOIC (Madras). The two appointments were merged again after a few years and the new appointment of NOIC (Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry) was created.[2]

In November 2015, the billet was upgraded to two-star rank and rechristened Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area (FOTNA). Commodore Alok Bhatnagar, the NOIC (TN&P) was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and took over as the first FOTNA.[3][4][5][6]

Organisation[edit]

The FOTNA is assisted by the NOIC (TN&P), a one-star appointment. The NOIC (TN&P) also serves as the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area (HQTN&P). The FOTNA is responsible to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. This includes all ships and submarines based at the Karwar Naval Base as well. The establishments under the FOTNA include:[7]

List of Commanders[edit]

S.No. Name Assumed office Left office Notes
1 Rear Admiral Alok Bhatnagar NM 30 June 2015 31 March 2019 First FOTNA. Later Additional Director General, NCC.[8][9]
2 Rear Admiral K. J. Kumar VSM 1 April 2019 30 June 2020 Earlier Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area.[10][11]
3 Rear Admiral Puneet Chadha NM 30 June 2020 20 May 2022 Current Additional Director General, NCC.[12]
4 Rear Admiral S. Venkat Raman VSM 20 May 2022 25 April 2023 Earlier Commandant, Naval War College.[13][14]
5 Rear Admiral Ravi Kumar Dhingra VSM 25 April 2023 Present Current FOTNA.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "INS Adyar | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  2. ^ Hiranandani 2013, p. 234.
  3. ^ Doraibabu & Godbole 2023, p. 474.
  4. ^ "New NOIC (TN & P) Takes Command". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Alok Bhatnagar new Naval Officer-in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry". The Economic Times. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Alok Bhatnagar becomes first Flag Officer, TN & Puducherry". India Today. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Units". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Chief of the Naval Staff visits INS Parundu". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Naval Helicopter Pilots Awarded Wings". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ "UNI Photo". uniindia.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Indian Navy Commissions Dornier Squadron INAS 313 at Chennai". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ Jun 30, V. Ayyappan / TNN / (30 June 2020). "Rear Admiral Puneet Chadha takes charge as flag officer commanding of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 May 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Rear Admiral S Venkat Raman Assumes Charge as The FOTNA | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  14. ^ Correspondent, Special (20 May 2022). "New Flag Officer Commanding for T.N. Puducherry area". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Change of Command - Flag Officer Commanding TN and P Naval Area". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

Bibliography[edit]

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