Vice Admiral Atul Anand took over as Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) on July 3. The post was previously held by Lt Gen Anil Puri, who superannuated on February 28.
The DMA with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as Secretary was created to facilitate optimal utilization of resources and promote jointness among the three Services.
Vice Admiral Anand will work on the mandate including the restructuring of military commands by bringing about jointness in operations through the proposed theatre commands.
Additionally, DMA carries key responsibilities by promoting the use of indigenous equipment by the Services.
Vice Admiral Atul Anand is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy (71st Course, Delta Squadron). He has also served as Principal Director of Naval Operations and Principal Director, Strategy, Concepts and Transformation at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy).
Vice Admiral Anand has held several key appointments in his career, including the command of Torpedo Recovery Vessel INTRV A72; missile boat INS Chatak; corvette INS Khukri and the destroyer INS Mumbai.
As a Flag Officer, he has served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, leading key foreign, cooperation and intelligence operations.
India’s first Tri-Service theatre command –Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC)– of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair is commanded by a three-star officer from the Navy, under whom officers and men from all three services work.
While the ANC was created in 2001 to safeguard India’s strategic interests, the DMA secretariat is tasked to speed up the process of such theatre commands across India.