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Director General of the Indian Coast Guard

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The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard. The DG ICG has their office in the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) in New Delhi. Appointed by the Government of India, the DG ICG reports to the Minister of Defence. The Director General is assisted by four Deputy Directors General, each holding the rank of inspector-general, and other senior officers heading various staff divisions. The Additional Director General of the ICG serves as the second-in-command to the Director General.

Director General of the
Indian Coast Guard
Flag of Indian Coast Guard
 Indian Coast Guard
StatusS. Paramesh
AbbreviationDG ICG
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatCoast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi
AppointerAppointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
Formation19 August 1978
First holderVice Admiral V. A. Kamath, PVSM
DeputyAdditional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ADG ICG)
WebsiteDG ICG

The post of Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is held by a three-star rank holder as a position and is not a rank in itself. It is equivalent to Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy, Lieutenant General of the Indian Army, Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force, and the Director General of Central Armed Police Forces/State Police Forces.[1][a] The rank of Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to that of a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.[2][3][b]

S. Paramesh is the current Director General of the Indian Coast Guard who assumed the office after Rakesh Pal died on 18th August 2024 following a cardiac arrest.

History

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The Indian Coast Guard came into being on 19 August 1978. The new service was to function under the overall command and control of a Director general.[4] Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath, deputed from the Indian Navy, served as the first DG ICG. Appointed on 19 August 1978, he served in the capacity until 31 March 1980.[5] Until 2016, appointees to the DG position were Officers of the Indian Navy deputed to the Coast Guard.

Three direct entry Coast Guard officers have gone on to head the service. While two previous Directors General have come from the Coast Guard stream –Rameshwar Singh and P. Paleri – they have all initially been commissioned into the Indian Navy before later being permanently deputed to the Coast Guard service.[6]

Additional responsibilities

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Apart from heading the Coast Guard, the DGICG is also:[7]

  • Chairman, National Maritime Search and Rescue Board (NMSARB)
  • Chairman, National Oil-spill Disaster Contingency Plan Committee (NOSDCP)
  • Chairman, Offshore Security Co-ordination Committee (OSCC), of which the Flag Officer Defence Advisory Group is a member.
  • Indian Governor to Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP)

Insignia

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The badges of rank have a crossed sword and baton over three eight-pointed stars and the Ashoka emblem above, on a golden shoulder board. The Director General wears gorget patches which are navy blue patches with three golden stars and oak leaves under the three golden stars. In addition to this, the double-breasted reefer jacket has three golden sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with two narrower bands.

List of Directors General

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No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Time in office
1Kamath, V. A.Vice Admiral
V. A. Kamath
PVSM
(1921–2017)		19 August 197831 March 19801 year, 225 days
2Parkash, SwarajVice Admiral
Swaraj Parkash
PVSM, MVC, AVSM
(1923–2004)		1 April 198031 March 19821 year, 364 days
3Schunker, M. R.Vice Admiral
M. R. Schunker
PVSM, AVSM
(1924–2021)		1 April 198231 March 19841 year, 365 days
4Jain, S.Vice Admiral
S. Jain		19 June 198414 February 1985240 days
5Khurana, I. J. S.Vice Admiral
I. J. S. Khurana		15 February 198530 June 19872 years, 135 days
6Johnson, H.Vice Admiral
H. Johnson		10 July 198727 June 19902 years, 352 days
7Lakhar, S. W.Vice Admiral
S. W. Lakhar		28 June 199031 August 19922 years, 64 days
8Kohli, K. K.Vice Admiral
K. K. Kohli		5 October 19923 January 19952 years, 90 days
9Jacob, P. J.Vice Admiral
P. J. Jacob		4 January 199517 November 19961 year, 318 days
10Ganesh, R. N.Vice Admiral
R. N. Ganesh		18 November 19964 March 19992 years, 106 days
11Silva, John Colin DeVice Admiral
John Colin De Silva
PVSM, AVSM
(1943–2019)		5 March 19996 March 20012 years, 1 day
12Singh, RameshwarVice Admiral
Rameshwar Singh		7 March 200129 September 2001206 days
13Bansal, O. P.Vice Admiral
O. P. Bansal		30 September 200112 January 20031 year, 104 days
14Pizey, CharlesVice Admiral
Sureesh Mehta
PVSM, AVSM
(born 1947)		13 January 200319 August 20041 year, 219 days
15Singh, A. K.Vice Admiral
A. K. Singh		20 August 200424 February 20061 year, 188 days
16Paleri, PrabhakaranDirector General
Prabhakaran Paleri		28 February 200631 August 2006184 days
17Pizey, CharlesVice Admiral
R. F. Contractor
AVSM, NM		31 August 200630 November 20082 years, 91 days
18Chopra, AnilVice Admiral
Anil Chopra
PVSM, AVSM		1 December 200829 October 20112 years, 332 days
19Muralidharan, M. P.Vice Admiral
M. P. Muralidharan		1 November 201128 February 20131 year, 119 days
20Thapliyal, AnuragVice Admiral
Anurag Thapliyal		1 March 201331 January 20151 year, 336 days
21Bisht, HarishVice Admiral
Harish Bisht
PVSM, AVSM
(born 1957)		1 February 201528 February 201627 days
22Singh, RajendraRajendra Singh Bisht
PTM, TM
(born 1959)		1 March 201630 June 20193 years, 121 days
23Natarajan, KrishnaswamyKrishnaswamy Natarajan
PVSM, PTM, TM
(born 1961)		1 July 201931 December 20212 years, 183 days
24Pathania, Virender SinghVirender Singh Pathania
PVSM, PTM, TM
(born 1963)		31 December 202131 January 20231 year, 31 days
25Pal, RakeshRakesh Pal
AVSM, PTM, TM
(1965–2024)		19 July 202318 August 2024 †1 year, 30 days
26Paramesh, SS. Paramesh
PTM, TM
(born 1965)		15 October 202421 days

† - Died in office

Notes

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Footnotes

  1. ^ FOC-in-C: Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, GOC-in-C: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, AOC-in-C: Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
  2. ^ In the Indian Armed Forces, three-star ranks fall into three categories, namely: HAG Scale, HAG+ Scale, and Commanders (GOC-in-C /FOC-in-C /AOC-in-C) Scale. HAG Scale stands at the bottom, whereas the Commanders Scale is the highest.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "CG Organisation: Indian Coast Guard". Indian Coast Guard. Government of India. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Indian Coast Guard Explained in Detail". Naval Journey. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Indian Coast Guard gets new director-general: All about it". India Today. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  4. ^ "COAST GUARD TO BE FORMED IN AUGUST" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 29 June 1978.
  5. ^ "VICE ADMIRAL SWARAJ PARKASH TAKES OVER AS DIRECTOR GENERAL COAST GUARD" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 31 March 1980.
  6. ^ "Rajendra Singh first non-navy officer to head Coast Guard". Zee News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  7. ^ Singh 2018, p. 285.

Bibliography

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