Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN)
Incumbent Vice AdmiralAjay KochharAVSM NM since 1 October 2025
Abbreviation	CINCAN
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Seat	Sri Vijaya Puram,Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Appointer	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
Precursor	Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (FORTAN)
Formation	2001
First holder	Vice AdmiralArun Prakash AVSMVrCVSMADC
Deputy	Chief of Staff
Website	Official Website

TheCommander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) is the head of theAndaman and Nicobar Command, the first and onlyTri-servicetheater command of theIndian Armed Forces, based atSri Vijaya Puram (formerlyPort Blair)^[1] in theAndaman and Nicobar Islands, aUnion Territory ofIndia.

The currentCINCAN isVice AdmiralAjay Kochhar who took command on 1 October 2025 as the 19thCINCAN.^[2]

TheAndaman and Nicobar Islands became aUnion territory of India in 1956. The first military unit on the islands was thenaval baseINS Jarawa, which was commissioned in 1964.^[3] The base was commanded by a Resident Naval Officer (RNO). After establishing subsequent garrisons in the islands, the post was upgraded to Naval Officer-in-Charge Andaman & Nicobar (NOIC A&N).^[4] The naval establishments were under the command of theEastern Naval Command during theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971. In October 1976, the operational control of all forces in the islands was given, and the post was upgraded to Commodore, Andaman & Nicobar (COMAN). Shortly afterwards, all establishments came under the newly created Fortress Andaman & Nicobar to signify jointness. The appointment was redesignated toFortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (FORTAN). In 1978,INS Kardip was commissioned as aForward operating base.

In March 1981, FORTAN was upgraded to aTwo star appointment tenanted by aRear Admiral.^[5] In 1987, the post was further upgraded to athree star appointment. In 1998, a 'Far East Naval Command' (FENC) was proposed, to be commanded by a Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Far East Naval Command.^[6]

With the operationalisation of the A & N Command as a unified theatre command in October 2001,Vice AdmiralArun Prakash,AVSM,VrC,VSM,ADC took over as the First Commander-in-Chief of the unified command.^[7]

The CINCAN is aThree-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. The CINCAN reports directly to theChief of Defence Staff (India) (CDS) inNew Delhi. He is assisted by the Chief of Staff of the command, atwo-star officer and the commanders of each component (sea, land, air) -one-star officers.^[8]

The following is a list of Commanders-in-Chief of the A&N command.^[9]

No	Name	Branch	Appointment Date	Left Office	References
1	Vice AdmiralArun PrakashAVSM, VrC, VSM	Indian Navy	8 October 2001	30 December 2002	[10][11][12][13]
2	Vice Admiral O. P. BansalAVSM		15 January 2003	30 September 2003	[14][15]
3	Lieutenant General Bhupender Singh ThakurAVSM	Indian Army	1 October 2003	13 January 2005	[16][17]
4	Lieutenant General Aditya SinghAVSM& bar		14 January 2005	27 February 2006	[18][19]
5	Vice Admiral Arun Kumar SinghPVSM, AVSM, NM	Indian Navy	28 February 2006	25 October 2006	[20][21]
6	Air Marshal Packiam Paul RajkumarAVSM	Indian Air Force	2 December 2006	31 December 2007	[22][23][24]
7	Air MarshalSadasivan RadhakrishnanAVSM		1 January 2008	30 September 2008	[25][26]
8	Vice AdmiralVijay ShankarAVSM	Indian Navy	30 September 2008	30 September 2009	[27]
9	Vice AdmiralDevendra Kumar JoshiAVSM, YSM, NM, VSM		30 September 2009	28 December 2010	[28]
10	Lieutenant General N C MarwahAVSM	Indian Army	1 January 2011	31 October 2012	[29][30]
11	Air Marshal Pramon Kumar RoyAVSM, VM, VSM	Indian Air Force	2 November 2012	30 June 2014	[31]
12	Vice AdmiralPradeep Kumar ChatterjeeAVSM, NM	Indian Navy	1 July 2014	28 February 2016	[32]
13	Vice AdmiralBimal VermaAVSM		29 February 2016	1 December 2019	[33]
14	Lieutenant GeneralPodali Shankar RajeshwarPVSM, AVSM, VSM	Indian Army	1 December 2019	31 May 2020	[34][35]
15	Lieutenant GeneralManoj PandeAVSM, VSM		1 June 2020	31 May 2021	[36]
16	Lieutenant GeneralAjai SinghPVSM, AVSM		1 June 2021	30 April 2023	[37]
17	Air MarshalSaju BalakrishnanAVSM, VM	Indian Air Force	1 May 2023	31 May 2025	[38]
18	Lieutenant GeneralDinesh Singh RanaPVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM	Indian Army	1 June 2025	30 September 2025	[39]
19	Vice AdmiralAjay KochharAVSM, NM	Indian Navy	1 October 2025	Incumbent	[2][40]

Number of CINCAN by branches of service
Branch	Count
Indian Army	7
Indian Navy	8
Indian Air Force	4

• Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
• Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
• Andaman and Nicobar Command

• Singh, Anup (2018),Blue Waters Ahoy!, The Indian Navy 2001-2010, HarperCollins Publishers India,ISBN 978-93-5302-552-6
• Mukherjee, Anit; Mohan, C. Raja (2015),India's Naval Strategy and Asian Security, Routledge,ISBN 978-1-317-36133-6

• Official Website - CINCAN

• Indian Army
• Indian Navy
• Indian Air Force
• Indian military appointments
• Commanders-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command

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