Vice Adm N Verma to head eastern naval command, Vice Adm RP Suthan is new vice chief

20 March 2008

Admiral Nirmal Verma will take over as the flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command from Vice Admiral Raman P Suthan, who in turn takes over as vice chief of naval staff on completion of an illustrious tenure as C-in-C of the Eastern Command.

The Eastern seaboard has gained prominence in the recent past and this is witnessed by the increasing engagement with immediate regional neighbours like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and other states of south-east Asia.

Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 Jul 1970. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he is a specialist in communications and electronics warfare. During his career spanning over 37 years, he has served in various afloat and shore appointments.

As a Communications specialist, he has served as the Fleet Communication Officer of the Western Fleet, and at the Directorate of Naval Signals. His command tenures include INS Udaygiri, INS Ranvir and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

He has also commanded the Indian Naval Academy, INS Mandovi.

The flag officer is a graduate of the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich, UK, and thereafter served as the head of the training team at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He is also a graduate of the US Naval War College, after which he has served as senior directing staff (Navy) at the National Defence College, New Delhi.