Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area

Flag Officer Commanding
Maharashtra Naval Area
(FOMA)
Flag of the FOMA (Rear Admiral's flag)
since 1 Sept 2024
Indian Navy
AbbreviationFOMA
Reports toFlag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command
SeatMumbai
First holderRear Admiral S. W. Lakhkar, NM, VSM

Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA) is a senior appointment in the Indian Navy. One of the five Area Commanders of the Indian Navy, the FOMA is a two star admiral holding the rank of Rear Admiral. The FOMA has operational control of the flotilla and forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra and the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron. Apart from this, the FOMA is responsible for the operations and administration of all units and establishments in Maharashtra. The current FOMA is Rear Admiral Anil Jaggi, who assumed office on 1 Sept 2024.

History

On 1 April 1985, the upgradation of the post of Naval Officer-in-Charge (NOIC) Bombay was approved. It was upgraded from the rank of Commodore to Rear Admiral and re-designated Flag Officer Bombay. The implementation of this happened in March 1987 and the appointment was designated Flag Officer Maharashtra (FOMA).[1] The FOMA would have operational control of all forces assigned for the local naval defence of all ports in Maharashtra, and would be responsible for the administration of all establishments and units in Bombay.[2]

In 1993, FOMA was operationalised and proceeded to sea in a flotilla of minor ships. The 22nd missile vessel squadron commanded by K22 was also brought under the FOMA.[2] In 2008, the Maharashtra Naval Area was expanded to include Gujarat, Daman and Diu. The Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG) headed the combined Naval area.[3]

After a brief period, in 2015, to enhance the operational and administrative efficiency, the Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area was divided to make two separate headquarters under (FOMA) and the Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat Naval Area (FOGNA).[4] The last Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area, Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar handed over command of the Maharashtra Area to Rear Admiral S. N. Ghormade.[5][6][7]

Organisation

The FOMA is assisted by the NOIC (Maharashtra) and the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters Gujarat Naval Area (HQMNA), both one-star appointments. The FOMA reports to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. The establishments under the FOMA include:[8]

List of Commanders

S.No. Name Assumed office Left office Notes
Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA)
1 Rear Admiral S. W. Lakhkar NM, VSM 23 March 1987 9 June 1987 First FOMA. Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.
2 Rear Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat AVSM, VrC 9 June 1987 8 August 1988 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[9]
3 Rear Admiral P. A. Debrass AVSM, NM 8 August 1988 17 October 1989
4 Rear Admiral Sushil Kumar UYSM, NM 17 October 1989 24 July 1991 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[10]
5 Rear Admiral V. K. Malhotra VSM 24 July 1991 25 October 1992
6 Rear Admiral Vinod Pasricha NM 25 October 1992 23 December 1993 Later Commandant of the National Defence College and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.[11]
7 Rear Admiral Gupteshwar Rai AVSM, NM, VSM 23 December 1993 31 July 1995 First Flag Officer Sea Training.
8 Rear Admiral Raman Puri AVSM, VSM 31 July 1995 15 October 1997 Later Chief of Integrated Defence Staff.[12]
9 Rear Admiral S. C. S. Bangara AVSM 15 October 1997 21 October 1998 Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[13]
10 Rear Admiral Ajit Tewari AVSM, NM 21 October 1998 26 April 2000 Later Chairman & Managing Director Hindustan Shipyard.[14]
11 Rear Admiral Ravi Chander Kochhar AVSM, NM, VSM 26 April 2000 26 February 2002 [14]
12 Rear Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma AVSM 26 February 2002 28 November 2003 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.
13 Rear Admiral Mahendra Pratap Taneja AVSM, NM, VSM 28 November 2003 23 May 2005
14 Rear Admiral I. K. Saluja AVSM, VSM 24 May 2005 20 March 2006 [15]
15 Rear Admiral D. K. Dewan AVSM 20 March 2006 17 March 2007 Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[16]
16 Rear Admiral A. V. Kalaskar NM, VSM 17 March 2007 24 January 2008 [17]
17 Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan NM 24 January 2008 30 August 2008 Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[18]
Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Area (FOMAG)
18 Rear Admiral M. P. Muralidharan NM 1 September 2008 8 December 2008 Later Director General of the Indian Coast Guard.[19]
19 Rear Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee NM 8 December 2008 31 August 2009 Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command.[20]
20 Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba 31 August 2009 25 January 2011 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[21]
21 Rear Admiral Bimal Verma AVSM 25 January 2011 31 May 2012 Later Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command.[22]
22 Rear Admiral Karambir Singh AVSM 31 May 2012 19 August 2013 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[23]
23 Rear Admiral G. Ashok Kumar VSM 19 August 2013 7 November 2014 Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[24]
24 Rear Admiral Murlidhar Sadashiv Pawar VSM 7 November 2014 21 October 2015 Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[25]
Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA)
25 Rear Admiral Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade NM 21 October 2015 17 October 2016 Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[25]
26 Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru NM 17 October 2016 12 February 2018 Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[26]
27 Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl VSM 12 February 2018 25 March 2019 Later Commandant of Indian Naval Academy.[27]
28 Rear Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar AVSM, VSM 12 February 2018 8 February 2020 Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[28]
29 Rear Admiral Vennam Srinivas AVSM, VSM 8 February 2020 22 February 2021 Current Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[29]
30 Rear Admiral Atul Anand VSM 22 February 2021 16 December 2021 Current Additional secretary, Department of Military Affairs.[30]
31 Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta VSM 16 December 2021 18 November 2022 [31][32]
32 Rear Admiral A. N. Pramod 18 November 2022 10 November 2023 Current Director General Naval Operations.[33]
33 Rear Admiral Manish Chadha VSM 10 November 2023 1 September 2024 [34]
34 Rear Admiral Anil Jaggi 1 September 2024 Present Current FOMA.[35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hiranandani 2005, p. 363.
  2. ^ a b Hiranandani 2009.
  3. ^ Doraibabu & Godbole 2023, p. 170.
  4. ^ "Navy creates separate Gujarat naval area". business-standard.com. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Maharashtra Area - Change of Command of FOMA". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Maharashtra and Gujarat Naval Areas Divided into two Separate Headquarters". Punekar News. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  7. ^ "For organizational efficiency: Maharashtra and Gujarat naval areas divided". The Economic Times. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  8. ^ "WNC Authorities & Units | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  9. ^ "CHANGE OF GUARD AT NAVAL HEADQUARTERS" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  10. ^ "NEW FORTRESS COMMANDER" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  11. ^ "NAVAL APPOINTMENTS" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Vice Adm Raman Puri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM". www.vifindia.org. 4 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Vice Admiral JS Bedi to head S Naval Command". Hindustan Times. 28 July 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Quarterdeck 2012" (PDF). navyfoundationmumbaicharter.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  15. ^ Cardozo 2006.
  16. ^ "English Releases". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Governor calls corporate world to employ ex-servicemen". oneindia.com. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  18. ^ "VAdm M.P.Muralidharan, AVSM & BAR, NM (Retd.),". maritimeindia.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  19. ^ "VAdm M.P.Muralidharan, AVSM & BAR, NM (Retd.),". maritimeindia.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Senior Most Submariner of Navy calls it a Day". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Admiral Sunil Lanba , PVSM, AVSM, ADC assumes command of Indian Navy". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Vice Admiral Bimal Verma AVSM takes over as Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of the Naval staff". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Rear Admiral Ashok Kumar is FOST". The Hindu. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Maharashtra Area - Change of Command of FOMA". www.indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Rear Admiral Sanjay Mahindru takes over as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Rear Admiral Puneet Kumar Bahl, VSM Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Rear Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, takes over as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Rear Admiral V Srinivas Assumes Charge as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  30. ^ Singh, Ashish (25 February 2021). "Navy appoints new FOMA & FOCWF". The Daily Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  31. ^ "Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta Takes Over as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta takes over as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area - Articles". ZEE5. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  33. ^ "REAR ADMIRAL AN PRAMOD ASSUMES CHARGE AS FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING MAHARASTRA NAVAL AREA (FOMA)". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Rear Admiral Manish Chadha assumes charge as Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area (FOMA)". indiannavy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  35. ^ Bose, Mrityunjay. "Admiral Jaggi takes over as FOMA chief". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-02.

Bibliography

  • Hiranandani, Gulab Mohanlal (2005), Transition to eminence : the Indian navy 1976-1990, Lancer Publishers, ISBN 978-8170622666
  • Hiranandani, Gulab Mohanlal (2009), Transition to Guardianship: The Indian Navy, 1991–2000, Lancer Publishers LLC, ISBN 978-1-935501-66-4
  • Doraibabu, M; Godbole, Amrut (2023), A Decade of Transformation: The Indian Navy 2011-2021, Harper Collins Publishers India, ISBN 9789394407909
  • Cardozo, Major General Ian (2006), The Sinking Of INS Khukri, Roli Books, ISBN 978-9351941262