Indian Coast Guard Gets A New Chief
VS Pathania took over as Director-General Indian Coast Guard on December 31. He succeeds Krishnaswamy Natarajan as the 24th Chief of the Indian Coast Guard.
Pathania was appointed to the top job in the Coast Guard after the controversial challenge to the new promotion rules by the other contender, Additional Director-General Rajan Bargotra in the Delhi High Court.
Bargotra, who heads the Coast Guard’s Western Seaboard formation, had reportedly challenged the new policy which considers the Annual Confidential Reports of the last five years of contenders for the top job. The Coast Guard chief is selected by a committee headed by the Defence Secretary.
The smallest of the Defence services, the Coast Guard has traditionally been headed by an Indian Navy vice-admiral. But Pathania is the third successive Director-General to be appointed from the Coast Guard cadre.
A helicopter pilot, Pathania has trained as a search and rescue and port operations specialist with the US Coast Guard. He’s an alumnus of the National Defence College and the Defence Services Staff College.
During his 36-year career, Pathania has commanded the Coast Guard Eastern Seaboard operations and headed its Western and North-Western regional formations. He has also commanded all class of Indian Coast Guard ships, including the Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel Sarang. He’s been awarded the Tatrakshak Medal for gallantry.
His predecessor, Krishnaswamy Natarajan will reportedly serve a tenure as an elected Executive Director of the Singapore-based Information Sharing Centre for the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia.
