Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

The Chief of the Naval Staff is the head of the military staff of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff is the highest ranking naval officer on active service of the Indian Armed Forces unless the Chief of Defence is a navy officer. The Chief of Naval Staff is the primary adviser to the Government of India on naval affairs. The Chief is responsible for governing and directing the naval staff, the supreme decision making body consisting of the highest ranking naval officers of the Indian Navy, who is the navy's chief executive and the chief naval advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff. The position is abbreviated CNS in Indian Navy cables and communication, and is always held by a full Admiral since 1966. The Chief of the Naval Staff is assisted by the Vice Chief of the navy staff.
The current CNS is Admiral Karambir Singh. The 24th Navy Chief, he took over from Admiral Sunil Lanba, who retired on 31 May 2019 after four decades of service from the navy.
Office of the Chief of the Naval Staff.
At Independence, the head of the Navy was designated the "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy." On 21 June 1948, the title of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added, with a re-designation to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy".
The "Royal" designation was dropped when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. Thus re-designating the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy".
The "Commanders-In-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955" re-designated the head of Indian Navy to "Chief of Naval Staff". The post was held by a three-star rank Vice Admiral until 1968, when it was upgraded to the four-star rank of a full Admiral.
Appointments to the office are made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The Chief of the Naval Staff generally reaches superannuation upon serving three years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Appointees.
 The following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Naval Staff and it's preceding positions since the independence of India.