Question

The highest rank in Indian Navy is ________.
A.Group Captain
B.Admiral
C.Rear Admiral
D.Admiral of the Fleet

Answer 1

Hint: ‘Sam no Varunah’ is the motto of the Indian Navy which means that the God Varuna should be auspicious to us. According to Hindu Puranas, Varuna is the god of oceans.

Complete Step by Step answer: The Indian Navy is headed by the President of India, as he is the Supreme Commander. The Indian Navy at present comprises one aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, a former Russian ship which was commissioned into service in 2013 and operates three classes of submarines. These are Chakra, Sindhughosh and Shishumar.

The ranks of the Commissioned officers of the Indian Navy in decreasing order of hierarchy are -
1. The Highest rank in the Indian Navy is the Admiral of the Fleet, also known as the Fleet Admiral. It is an honorary five-star rank and in many countries, this rank is reserved for ceremonial appointments or for wartime. Till date, no officer of the Indian Navy has been conferred with this rank.
2. Admiral comes next in the order of hierarchy. An Admiral officer is also known as the Chief of the Naval Staff, is the commander and the highest-ranking officer in the Indian Navy. It is held by a four-star rank officer.
3. The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff or the Vice-Admiral comes second in command of the Indian Navy. It is held by a Three-Star Officer and is responsible for tasks related to the naval operation.
4. Rear Admiral comes next after the rank of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He is a two-star rank officer who is appointed in higher naval commands.
5. The rank of Commodore is assigned to any officer who is allocated the task to command more than one ship at a time.
6. The rank of Captain is equivalent to the ‘Group Captains’ in Indian Air Force and ‘Colonel’ in the Indian Army.

Following the Captain in decreasing order are the Commander, a common naval officer; Lieutenant Commander, whose rank is equivalent to a ‘Major’ of the Indian Army and ‘Squadron Leader’ of the Indian Air Force; then is Lieutenant and Sub-Lieutenant.

Thus, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: The ranks of the Indian Navy have been classified into three categories - Commissioned Officers, Junior Commissioned Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer. The Junior Commission Officer includes the Master Chief Petty Officer 1st Class, Master Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class and Chief Petty Officer. While the Non-Commissioned Officer comprises a Petty Officer, Leading Seaman and Seaman.