Vice Admiral Bimal Verma takes charge as 13th CINCAN

Vice Admiral Bimal Verma took over as the 13th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) here on Monday. He succeeded Vice Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee, who retired after 39 years of illustrious service today.

Vice Admiral Verma is an alumnus of the prestigious Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and National Defence Academy where he was adjudged the best Naval Cadet.

He was commissioned in the Indian Navy on Jan 01, 1980 and specialised in 'Communication and Electronic Warfare'. In the course of his distinguished career, the Flag Officer has held numerous important Command, Staff and Operational appointments.

Vice Admiral Verma's noteworthy afloat appointments include commissioning crew of INS Viraat, Signal Communication Officer of INS Ganga and Fleet Communication Officer of Western Fleet. He has also been the Commanding Officer of amphibious platforms such as INS Shardul and Magar, missile destroyer INS Ranjit and guided missile destroyer INS Mysore.

Amongst his important ashore appointments, the Flag Officer has been the Principal Director Naval Operations at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), Naval Attache in Tehran, Captain Local Work-up team (LWT) at Visakhapatnam, INTEG (Indian Naval Tactical Evolution Group) and has also served with the Signal Intelligence Organisation.

On elevation to the Flag rank, Vice Admiral Verma has held appointments as Flag Officer Doctrines & Concepts, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Information Warfare & Operations) and Flag Officer 'Alternative Operational Base' project.

On promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral on November 01, 2012, the Flag Officer was appointed as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command where he also coordinated the recently concluded International Fleet Review 2016.

For his distinguished services, Vice Admiral Bimal Verma has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM).