List_of_Indian_Coast_Guard_directors_general

Director General of the Indian Coast Guard

Director General of the Indian Coast Guard

Head of the Indian Coast Guard

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.

Quick Facts Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, Abbreviation ...

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 and the Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force.[2][lower-alpha 1] The rank of Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to that of a Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.[3][4][lower-alpha 2]

Rakesh Pal is the current Director General of the Indian Coast Guard who assumed the office after Virender Singh Pathania retired. The Flag officer is the fourth direct entry Coast Guard officer who took over the helm of the ICG on 19 July 2023 as the 25th Director General.

History

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Additional responsibilities

Apart from heading the Coast Guard, the DGICG is also:[8]

  • 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

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

More information No., Portrait ...

Notes

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.[3]

References

  1. [1]
    "DG Rakesh Pal appointed as 25th Director General of Indian Coast Guard". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  2. [2]
    "CG Organisation: Indian Coast Guard". Indian Coast Guard. Government of India. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Indian Coast Guard Explained in Detail". Naval Journey. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Indian Coast Guard gets new director-general: All about it". India Today. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. [5]
    "COAST GUARD TO BE FORMED IN AUGUST" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 29 June 1978.
  6. [6]
    "VICE ADMIRAL SWARAJ PARKASH TAKES OVER AS DIRECTOR GENERAL COAST GUARD" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 31 March 1980.
  7. [7]
    "Rajendra Singh first non-navy officer to head Coast Guard". Zee News. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  8. [8]
    Singh 2018, p. 285.

Bibliography
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