NewzVille Desk
Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, AVSM, NM, assumed charge as the 47th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) on Friday. On taking charge, the Flag Officer paid solemn homage to the brave hearts who made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial, New Delhi.
An alumnus of the 71st course of the National Defence Academy, Pune, Vice Admiral Vatsayan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January, 1988. A specialist in Gunnery and Missile Systems, he has held a wide range of command, operational, and staff assignments over a distinguished naval career spanning more than three decades.
At sea, the Vice Admiral has served onboard various frontline warships, including as part of the commissioning crew of the Guided Missile Destroyer INS Mysore, INS Nishank, and the pre-commissioning crew of Coast Guard OPV CGS Sangram.
He also served as the Executive Officer of INS Mysore. His commands include Coast Guard ship C-05, Missile Vessels INS Vibhuti and INS Nashak, Missile Corvette INS Kuthar, and Guided Missile Frigate INS Sahyadri as its commissioning commanding officer.
In February 2020, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, leading numerous operational deployments and exercises during a period of heightened maritime activity following the Galwan clashes.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Naval War College, Goa, and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi, Vice Admiral Vatsayan has also excelled in key strategic and policy-oriented staff roles.
His appointments at Naval Headquarters include Joint Director and Director of Personnel (Policy), Director Naval Plans (Perspective Planning), and Principal Director Naval Plans.
Promoted to Flag Rank in February 2018, he served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans) before commanding the Eastern Fleet. For his exceptional leadership and meritorious service of a very high order, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2021.
He subsequently served as Deputy Commandant of the National Defence Academy and, in December 2021, was appointed Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command (ENC), where he oversaw ENC’s operational readiness, personnel development, and infrastructure augmentation.
Before taking over as VCNS, Vice Admiral Vatsayan served as Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (DCIDS) – Operations and later as DCIDS (Policy, Plans and Force Development) at Headquarters IDS. In these roles, he played a key part in coordinating operations, enhancing integration and jointness, driving force development, and framing policies to promote indigenisation across the three Services.
Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan is married to Sarita. They have a son, an economics graduate who completed his MBA at the Indian School of Business, and a daughter who graduated in Humanities.
