Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain takes charge of Eastern Naval Command

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain has taken charge as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command from Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, who took over as the 13th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN).

Vice Admiral Jain has held various Operational, Staff and Command Appointments in the past.

Vice Admiral Jain is an alumnus of the Sainik School (Rewa), National Defence Academy (Pune), the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington, Ooty), the College of Naval Warfare (Mumbai) and the National Defence College (Pretoria, South Africa). He was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 01 July 1982 and post specialisation in Gunnery and Missile Warfare, he held appointments as Gunnery Officer of missile destroyers, IN Ships Ranvijay and Ranvir.

The Flag Officer's noteworthy afloat appointments include command of missile corvettes Nirghat, Khukri, missile destroyer INS Rajput and indigenously built stealth destroyer INS Mysore. He was also the commissioning Executive Officer of INS Brahmaputra and the Fleet Operations Officer of the Eastern Fleet at Visakhapatnam.

Amongst his important ashore appointments, Vice Admiral Jain has been the Director Naval Intelligence (Protocol), Director Foreign Liaison and Principal Director Staff Requirement at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy).

On elevation to the Flag Rank on 03 October 2011, he was appointed as the first Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area, Karwar. Thereafter, the Flag Officer took over command of the prestigious Eastern Fleet and also served as Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command. On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral on 01 April 15, he was holding the appointment of the Controller Personnel Services at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) prior to taking over as the Chief of Staff, ENC.

For his distinguished service, the Flag Officer was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in 2009 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015.