 "Vice-Admiral Atul Anand takes over as Additional Secretary, DMA")
Vice-Admiral Atul Anand took over as Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs on July 3. The post was previously held by Lt Gen Anil Puri.
Anand was commissioned into the executive branch of the Indian Navy in January 1988. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA); Defence Services Command and Staff College, Mirpur (Bangladesh) and the National Defence College, New Delhi.
He has also attended the Advanced Security Cooperation course at the Asia Pacific Centre of Security Studies, Hawaii, US.
Anand, a recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM), has held the command of Torpedo Recovery Vessel INTRV A72; missile boat INS Chatak; corvette INS Khukri; and INS Mumbai.
He also served as the navigating officer of IN ships Sharda, Ranvijay and Jyoti and was the direction officer of the Sea Harrier squadron INAS 300 and the executive officer of the destroyer, INS Delhi.
As a Flag Officer, he has served as assistant chief of Naval Staff (foreign, cooperation and intelligence); deputy commandant and chief instructor at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla; flag officer commanding Maharashtra naval area; flag officer commanding Karnataka naval area and director general naval operations.