Sanjay Bhalla

Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, NM is a serving Flag officer in the Indian Navy. He currently serves as the Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command. He previously served as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, having taken over from Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti in December 2021.

Vice Admiral

Sanjay Bhalla

NM
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Navy
Years of service1989 - present
Rank Vice Admiral
Commands heldEastern Fleet
INS Beas (2000)
INS Taragiri (F41)
INS Nishank (K43)
Awards Nao Sena Medal

Bhalla was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 January 1989. He is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the College of Naval Warfare in Mumbai.[1] He also attended the Royal College of Defence Studies, London.[2]

Bhalla has commanded the Veer-class missile vessel INS Nishank (K43), and the Nilgiri-class anti-submarine warfare frigate INS Kora (P61). He subsequently commanded the Brahmaputra-class guided-missile frigate INS Beas (2000).[3]

Bhalla, in his staff appointments, has served as the training commander at the Indian Naval Academy. He also served as the Director at Maritime Doctrine and Concepts Centre. As a Captain, he served as the Naval adviser at the High Commission of India, Islamabad.[4] As a Commodore, he served as the Naval assistant to the Chief of the Naval Staff.[3]

Flag rank
Bhalla as a Rear admiral.

On promotion to Flag Rank, Bhalla took over as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development) (ACOP HRD) at naval headquarters. ACOP is an assistant principal staff officer appointment. On 20 December 2021, he assumed the office of the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), taking over from Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti who commanded the Eastern Fleet from February to December 2021.[2] On 26 January 2022, he was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for devotion to duty.[5] As FOCEF, he was the officer in tactical command during the President's Fleet Review (PFR) held in February 2022.[6] On 1 April 2023, he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command, taking over Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan.[7]

Awards and decorations
Nao Sena Medal Samanya Seva Medal Operation Vijay Star Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram Medal Sainya Seva Medal 75th Anniversary of Independence Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

See also

References
  1. "Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla takes over as Eastern Fleet Commander". The Hindu. 21 December 2021.
  2. "Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla takes over as Eastern Fleet Commander | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  3. "REAR ADMIRAL SANJAY BHALLA TAKES OVER AS EASTERN FLEET COMMANDER". www.pib.gov.in.
  4. Service, Tribune News. "Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla is Eastern Fleet Chief". Tribuneindia News Service.
  5. "PRESS RELEASE - DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS TO INDIAN NAVY PERSONNEL ON REPUBLIC DAY". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  6. @indiannavy (20 February 2022). "President's Fleet Review" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. @IN_WNC (1 April 2023). "Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, on promotion, took over as Chief of Staff…" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023 – via Twitter.
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