View source for Commandant of the National Defence Academy

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Commandant
| body = the<br />[[National Defence Academy]]
| native_name = 
| flag = 
| flagsize = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = 
| insignia = 
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = 
| image = VAdm Ajay Kochhar, AVSM, NM.jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| incumbent = [[Vice_Admiral_(India)|Vice Admiral]] [[Ajay Kochhar]]<br /> {{small|[[AVSM]], [[Nao Sena Medal|NM]]}}
| incumbentsince = 1 April 2022
| type = Military
| status = Active
| department = 
| style = 
| member_of = 
| reports_to = 
| residence = Commandant's Residence, National Defence Academy
| seat = National Defence Academy
| nominator = 
| appointer = 
| appointer_qualified = 
| termlength = 
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| constituting_instrument = 
| precursor = 
| formation = 1 January 1949
| first = [[Major General]] Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO
| abolished = 
| succession = 
| abbreviation = 
| unofficial_names = 
| deputy = [[Rear Admiral]] S K Grewal, NM, VSM
| salary = 
| website = {{url|www.nda.nic.in}}
}}

The '''Commandant of the National Defence Academy''' is the head and overall in-charge of the [[National Defence Academy (India)|National Defence Academy]]. The Commandant of the Academy is a [[Three-star rank]] officer from the three Services in rotation.  He is supported by the Deputy Commandant (a [[Two-star rank]] appointment),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/dy-comdt_new.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref> Brigadier Administration (Brig Adm),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/brig_adm_new.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref> Principal Director (Training)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/pd_trg_new.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref> (both [[One-star rank|One-Star]] appointments), a Civilian Principal<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/principal_new.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref> and the Adjutant (An Officer of the rank of [[Lieutenant Colonel]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/adjutant_new.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref>

Commissioned as Joint Services Wing (JSW), the interim training academy was set up at the [[Indian Military Academy]] (IMA). The first Commandant of JSW was [[Major General]] Thakur Mahadeo Singh, [[Distinguished Service Order (Military)|DSO]]. The present-day National Defence Academy was constructed in Pune and was formally commissioned on 7 December 1954 as the successor to JSW of IMA. The program of JSW was transferred from IMA to NDA. [[Major General]] [[Ibrahim Habibullah|E Habibullah]] was the last head of the JSW and the First Commandant of NDA at Pune.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nda.nic.in/history.html|title=National Defence Academy }}</ref>

== Joint Services Wing at Indian Military Academy ==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- style="background:#cccccc"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 20px;"|S.No.
! scope="col" style="width: 400px;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width: 200px;" | Branch
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Assumed office
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Left office
! scope="col" style="width: 600px;" | Notes
|-
| 1|| [[Major general (India)|Major General]] Thakur Mahadeo Singh, [[Distinguished Service Order (Military)|DSO]]||{{army|India}} || 1 January 1949|| 12 March 1950|| First head of JSW at IMA
|-
| 2|| Major General [[Kodendera Subayya Thimayya|K S Thimayya]], [[Distinguished Service Order (Military)|DSO]]||{{army|India}}|| 13 March 1950|| 16 June 1951|| Later served as the [[Chief of Army Staff of Indian Army]]
|-
| 3|| Major General MS Wadalia||{{army|India}} || 1 September 1951|| 6 January 1953|| <ref>{{cite news |title=Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch) |page=195 |date=13 October 1951 |url=https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1951/O-2307-1951-0041-107907.pdf |publisher=The Gazette of India}}</ref>
|-
| 4|| Major General [[Ibrahim Habibullah|E Habibullah]] ||{{army|India}}|| 7 January 1953|| 6 December 1954|| Last head of JSW at IMA<ref name="Comdts Gallery – NDA Official">{{cite web|title=Comdts Gallery|url=http://www.nda.nic.in/comdt_gallery.html|website=National Defence Academy|accessdate=25 May 2016}}</ref>
|}

== National Defence Academy ==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|- style="background:#cccccc"
|-
! scope="col" style="width: 20px;"|S.No.
! scope="col" style="width: 600px;" | Name
! scope="col" style="width: 200px;" | Branch
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Assumed office
! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" | Left office
! scope="col" style="width: 600px;" | Notes
|-
| 1|| [[Major general (India)|Major General]] [[Ibrahim Habibullah|E Habibullah]]||{{army|India}}|| 7 December 1954 || 26 December 1958|| First Commandant at NDA, Khadakwasla
|-
| 2|| [[Rear admiral (India)|Rear Admiral]] [[Benjamin Abraham Samson]] ||{{navy|India}}||27 December 1958|| 1 January 1963|| First non-army and also the first Naval Officer to be the Commandant. Later [[Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet|Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet]] (FOCIF).
|-
| 3|| [[Air vice marshal (India)|Air Vice Marshal]] K L Sondhi|| {{air force|India}}|| 6 January 1963||  25 September 1963|| First Air Force Officer to be the Commandant.
|-
| 4|| Major General R Bakhshi, [[Military Cross|MC]]||{{army|India}}|| 26 September 1963|| 8 August 1966||
|-
| 5||Air Vice Marshal S N Goyal ||{{air force|India}}|| 9 August 1966 || 18 June 1968||
|-
| 6|| Rear Admiral R N Batra ||{{navy|India}}|| 19 June 1968|| 15 October 1970||
|-
| 7|| Major General S D Gupta ||{{army|India}}|| 16 October 1970||  1 January 1973||
|-
| 8|| Air Vice Marshal M B Naik ||{{air force|India}}|| 3 January 1973 || 7 March 1976 ||
|-
| 9|| Rear Admiral [[Manohar Prahlad Awati|M P Awati]], [[PVSM]], [[VrC]] ||{{navy|India}}||8 March 1976|| 22 July 1977|| Later served as FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command.
|-
| 10|| Major General R K Jasbir Singh ||{{army|India}}|| 22 July 1977|| 22 May 1979||
|-
| 11|| Air Marshal M J Dotiwalla ||{{air force|India}}|| 9 July 1979|| 30 June 1982|| First [[Three-star rank|three-star]] air force officer (Air Marshal) to be the commandant.
|-
| 12|| Rear Admiral R P Sawhney|| {{navy|India}}||1 July 1982|| 15 August 1985|| First Ex-NDA commandant. Alumnus of the first NDA (JSW) Course.
|-
| 13|| [[Lieutenant General (India)|Lieutenant General]] [[Sami Khan (general)|Sami Khan]], [[PVSM]], [[Sena Medal|SM]]||{{army|India}}|| 16 August 1985 || 2 November 1986|| First three-star army officer (Lt Gen) to be the commandant. Later served as GOC-in-C Central Command.
|-
| 14|| Lieutenant General K L K Singh||{{army|India}}|| 12 December 1986|| 28 June 1988||
|-
| 15|| [[Air Marshal (India)|Air Marshal]] D S Sabhikhi, [[AVSM]]||{{air force|India}}|| 29 June 1988 || 31 August 1991||
|-
| 16|| [[Vice Admiral (India)|Vice Admiral]] Inderjit Bedi, [[AVSM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 1 September 1991 || 11 October 1993|| First three-star naval officer (V Adm) to be the commandant. Later served as FOC-in-C Southern Naval Command.
|-
| 17|| Lieutenant General S K Jetley, [[AVSM]], [[Sena Medal|SM]]||{{army|India}}|| 12 October 1993|| 24 March 1995||
|-
| 18|| Air Marshal A S Sethi, [[Aide-de-camp|ADC]]||{{air force|India}}|| 25 March 1995 || 31 January 1996||
|-
| 19|| Air Marshal J S Rai, [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]] [[Medal bar|& bar]]||{{air force|India}}|| 0 February 1996 || 9 January 1997||
|-
| 20|| Vice Admiral [[Arun Prakash]], [[PVSM]], [[AVSM]], [[Vir Chakra|VrC]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 31 July 1997|| 19 March 1999|| Later served as the [[Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy]]
|-
| 21|| Lieutenant General S B S Kochar, [[PVSM]], [[AVSM]]||{{army|India}}||  13 April 1999||  31 March 2001||
|-
| 22|| Air Marshal A K Trikha, [[AVSM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]||{{air force|India}}|| 1 April 2001||  31 December 2002||
|-
| 23|| Vice Admiral S C S Bangara, [[PVSM]], [[AVSM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 31 December 2002 || 24 July 2004||
|-
| 24|| Lieutenant General A K Chopra, [[PVSM]], [[AVSM]] ||{{army|India}}|| 4 August 2004 || 30 November 2006||
|-
| 25|| Air Marshal T S Randhawa, [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]]||{{air force|India}}|| 1 December 2006 || 31 December 2008||
|-
| 26|| Vice Admiral [[Robin Kumar Dhowan|R K Dhowan]], [[AVSM]], [[Yudh Seva Medal|YSM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 1 January 2008 || 22 November 2009|| Later served as the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy.
|-
| 27|| Vice Admiral [[Satish Soni]], [[AVSM]], [[Nao Sena Medal|NM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 23 November 2009|| 31 December 2010|| Later served as the [[Flag officer|FOC-in-C]] of [[Southern Naval Command|Southern]] and [[Eastern Naval Command|Eastern]] Commands of Indian Navy.
|-
| 28|| Lieutenant General Jatinder Singh, [[AVSM]] [[Medal bar|& bar]], [[Sena Medal|SM]] ||{{army|India}}|| 1 January 2011|| 5 July 2012|| Removed from the position. Accused of being involved in recruitment scandal.<ref name="LT GEN J Singh removed by RM Antony NDTV">{{cite web|title=Defence Academy recruitment scam: AK Antony orders shifting of commandant Lt. Gen Jatinder Singh|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/defence-academy-recruitment-scam-ak-antony-orders-shifting-of-commandant-lt-gen-jatinder-singh-491030|publisher=NDTV|accessdate=25 May 2016}}</ref>
|-
| 29|| Lieutenant General Ashok Singh, [[AVSM]], [[Sena Medal|SM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]] ||{{army|India}}||7 August 2012|| 31 December 2012|| Later served as the GOC-in-C of [[Southern Command (India)|Southern Command]] of Indian Army.<ref name="Lt Gen Ashok Singh to be Southern Command chief TOI">{{cite web|title=Lt Gen Ashok Singh to be Southern Command chief|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Lt-Gen-Ashok-Singh-to-be-Southern-Command-chief/articleshow/18263585.cms|website=The Times of India|accessdate=25 May 2016}}</ref>
|-
| 30|| Air Marshal [[Kulwant Singh Gill|K S Gill]], [[AVSM]], [[Yudh Seva Medal|YSM]], [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]] ||{{air force|India}}|| 1 January 2013|| 30 July 2014|| Later served as the [[Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief|AOC-in-C]] of [[Central Air Command|Central Command]] of Indian Air Force<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Marshal Gill takes over as new NDA Commandant – Indian Express |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/air-marshal-gill-takes-over-as-new-nda-commandant/1053190/ |website=The Indian Express}}</ref>
|-
| 31|| Air Marshal [[Rakesh Bhadauria|R K S Bhadauria]], [[AVSM]], [[Vayusena Medal|VM]]||{{air force|India}}|| 1 August 2014|| 30 January 2015||Later served as [[Chief of the Air Staff (India)|Chief of the Air Staff]]<ref name="Air Marshal R K S Bhadauria takes charge at National Defence Academy – TOI">{{cite web|title=Air Marshal R K S Bhadauria takes charge at National Defence Academy|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Air-Marshal-R-K-S-Bhadauria-takes-charge-at-National-Defence-Academy/articleshow/39441085.cms|website=The Times of India|accessdate=25 May 2016}}</ref>
|-
| 32|| Vice Admiral [[G Ashok Kumar]], [[AVSM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]||{{navy|India}}|| 1 April 2015 || 4 June 2016|| Later served as the [[Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Vice Chief of the Naval Staff]]
|-
| 33|| Air Marshal Jasjit Singh Kler [[AVSM]], [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]]||{{air force|India}}||4 June 2016 ||  31 March 2018||
|-
| 34|| Air Marshal I P Vipin, [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]]||{{air force|India}}||1 April 2018 ||  15 December 2019|| Current Senior Air Staff Officer at [[Central Air Command, Indian Air Force|Central Air Command]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Feb 19 |first1=TNN | title=Lt Gen Asit Mistry new NDA Commandant {{!}} Pune News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/lt-gen-asit-mistry-new-nda-commandant/articleshow/74199151.cms |website=The Times of India }}</ref>
|-
| 35 || Lieutenant General [[Asit Mistry]], [[AVSM]], [[Sena Medal|SM]], [[Vishisht Seva Medal|VSM]]||{{army|India}}|| 19 February 2020|| 30 October ||<ref>{{cite web |last1=Feb 19 |first1=TNN | title=Lt Gen Asit Mistry new NDA Commandant {{!}} Pune News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/lt-gen-asit-mistry-new-nda-commandant/articleshow/74199151.cms |website=The Times of India }}</ref>
|-
| 36 || Air Marshal [[Sanjeev Kapoor (air marshal)|Sanjeev Kapoor]] [[Ati Vishisht Seva Medal|AVSM]],  [[Vayu Sena Medal|VM]] ||{{air force|India}}|| 31 October 2021|| 31 March 2022 ||<ref>{{cite news |access-date=2021-10-31 |date=2021-10-31 | title=Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor takes over as new NDA Commandant |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/air-marshal-sanjeev-kapoor-nda-commandant-7600819/ |website=The Times of India }}</ref>
|-
| 37 || Vice Admiral [[Ajay Kochhar]], [[AVSM]], [[Nao Sena Medal|NM]] || {{navy|India}} || 1 April 2022 || Present ||<ref>{{cite web |title=CHANGE AT THE HELM : VICE ADMIRAL AJAY KOCHHAR, AVSM, NM ASSUMES THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMANDANT NATIONAL DEFENCE ACDAEMY |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1812511 |website=pib.gov.in |access-date=2 April 2022 |date=1 April 2022}}</ref>
|-

|}

==List of Commandants by branches of service==
'''Army''' - 15<br/>'''Navy''' - 11<br/>'''Air Force''' - 14

== See also ==
* [[Commandant of the Indian Military Academy]]
* [[Commandant of the National Defence College]]
* [[Commandant of Indian Naval Academy]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Indian military academies and colleges}}

[[Category:Lists of Indian military personnel]]
[[Category:Military academies of India]]
[[Category:Commandants of the National Defence Academy]]
[[Category:Indian military appointments]]