Director General of Indian Coast Guard

The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard. The DG ICG has their office in the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) in New Delhi. Appointed by the Government of India, the DG ICG reports to the Minister of Defence. The Director General is assisted by four Deputy Directors General, each holding the rank of inspector-general, and other senior officers heading various staff divisions. The Additional Director General of the ICG serves as the second-in-command to the Director General. The post of Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is held by a three-star rank holder as a position and is not a rank in itself. It is a Commander-in-Chief grade and is equivalent to vice admiral of the Indian Navy, lieutenant general of the Indian Army and the air marshal of the Indian Air Force. The rank of Additional Director General of the Indian Coast Guard is equivalent to vice admiral of Higher Administrative Grade of the Indian Navy.

After the Coast Guard Act 1978 came into force on 19 August 1978, the first Director General was appointed on the same day. Vice Admiral V. A. Kamath, deputed from the Indian Navy, served as the first DG ICG. Appointed on 19 August 1978, he served in the capacity until 31 March 1980. Traditionally, appointees to the DG position have come from the Indian Navy, although the current office holder, Rajendra Singh, is a direct entry Coast Guard officer. While several previous Directors General have come from the Coast Guard stream – such as Rameshwar Singh and P. Paleri – they have all initially been commissioned into the Indian Navy before later being permanently deputed to the Coast Guard service. As such, Singh has the distinction of being the first regular direct entry officer of the Indian Coast Guard to be promoted to the position of ADG and to achieve three-star rank, doing so on 11 January 2013. He was later appointed as the DG, taking over this position in early 2016. Singh succeeded Vice Admiral H. C. S. Bisht on 1 March 2016. Besides the distinction of being the first three-star rank officer of the Indian Coast Guard, Rajendra Singh is the first Coast Guard officer to become the Director General.