Article Posted on : - Feb 22, 2016

NEW DELHI (PTI): Coast Guard chief Vice Admiral H C S Bisht has been appointed as the new Flag Officer Commanding in Chief of the Eastern Naval Command and Vice Admiral B K Verma will take over the strategically important Andaman and Nicobar Command.

The decisions were taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

The current Flag Officer Commanding in Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni and Commander in Chief of Andaman and Nicobar Command Vice Admiral P K Chatterjee are to retire on February 29.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal of the Department of Defence Production for appointment of N Krishnappa, GM (MS), BEL to the post of Director (Other Units) in BEL.

The Eastern Naval Command is one of Indian Navy's three major formations and is headquartered in Visakhapatnam. It has base in the port city as well as at Kolkata.

The Andaman and Nicobar Command is a tri-service theatre command of the Indian military and is based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It was created in 2001 to safeguard India's strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca by increasing rapid deployment of military assets in the region.