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{{for|the Royal Navy appointment|Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom)}}

{{Infobox official post
| post = Assistant Chief
| body = the Naval Staff
| native_name =
| insignia =
| insigniasize =
| insigniacaption =
| flag = File:Rear_Admiral_ensign_of_Indian_Navy.svg
| flagsize =
| flagborder = yes's flag)
| flagcaption = Flag of the ACNS (Rear Admiral flag)
| image =
| imagesize =
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| incumbent =
| acting =
| incumbentsince =
| department = {{Navy|India}}
| style =
| type = Assistant Principal Staff Officer (APSO)
| status =
| abbreviation = ACNS
| member_of =
| reports_to =
| residence =
| seat = Naval Headquarters, [[New Delhi]]
| nominator =
| appointer =
| appointer_qualified =
| termlength =
| termlength_qualified =
| constituting_instrument =
| precursor =
| formation = 1967
| first =
| last =
| abolished =
| succession =
| unofficial_names =
| deputy =
| salary =
| website =
}}

The '''Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff''' (ACNS) is a senior appointment in the [[Indian Navy]]. The ACNS is an assistant PSO (Principal Staff Officer) at Naval Headquarters in [[New Delhi]]. At present, there are eight appointments of ACNS who head different directorates. The appointments are held by a [[Two-star rank|Two star officer]] in the rank of [[Rear admiral (India)|Rear Admiral]].

==History==
The appointment of ACNS was created in 1967. The Chief of Naval Aviation (CONA) was re-designated '''Assistant Chief of Naval Staff'''. The ACNS was responsible for the directorates of ''Air Staff'' and ''Air Materiel'' and was held by an officer of the rank of [[Commodore (India)|Commodore]]. The first officer to hold the appointment was Comodore [[Nilakanta Krishnan]]. In 1969, it was decided to redistribute responsibilities amongst appointments at naval headquarters. The directorates of ''Submarines'', ''Acquisition project'' and ''Meteorology'' were added to the ACNS.{{sfn|Hiranandani|1999}}

In 1972, the appointment was re-designated [[Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (India)]] and upgraded to the rank of Rear Admiral. An assistant PSO in the rank of Rear admiral was created and called '''ACNS (Policy & Plans)''', reporting to the [[Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Vice Chief of the Naval Staff]]. The ACNS (P&P) had the directorates of ''Plans'', ''Works'' and ''Acquisitions'' under him. A new directorate of ''Management Services'' was created in 1974 and placed under ACNS (P&P).{{sfn|Hiranandani|1999}} In 1984, the appointments of Director Naval Operations (DNO) and Director Naval Air Staff (DNAS) were upgraded to the rank of Rear admiral and designated '''ACNS (Ops)''' and '''ACNS (Air)''' respectively. They reported into the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.{{sfn|Hiranandani|2005}}

In 1996, the submarine arm was reorganised and the appointment of '''ACNS (Submarines)''' was created as a class authority coordinating all aspects of submarine operations, logistics and maintenance. The ACNS (SM) would function as the senior submarine advisor at NHQ and report into the Controller Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A).{{sfn|Hiranandani|2009}} The [[Flag Officer Submarines (India)|Flag Officer Submarines]] dual-hatted as the ACNS (SM) until 2001, when it was created as a separate billet.{{sfn|Singh|2018}} The post of '''ACNS (Special Submarine Projects)''' was created in 2001 and is responsible for all aspects related to the acquisition of special platforms built indigenously or from abroad and creation of related infrastructure for all special projects. The ACNS (SSP) reports into the Inspector General Nuclear Safety.{{sfn|Singh|2018}}

In 2005, a new Assistant PSO position of '''ACNS (Foreign Cooperation and Transformation)''' was created with the Directorates of Foreign Cooperation (DFC), Foreign Liaison (DFL) and Strategy, Concepts and Transformation (DSCT) under it. A year later, it was rechristened ACNS (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence) with the Directorate of Intelligence under it.{{sfn|Singh|2018}} In 2012, the post of '''ACNS (Communications, Space and Network Centric Operations)''' was created with a plan to seamlessly integrate all combat platforms and terrestrial nodes through state-of-the art communications and space systems towards network-centric operations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Navy creates new post to harness space-based capabilities |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/navy-creates-new-post-to-harness-space-based-capabilities/articleshow/13774463.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=26 December 2023 |date=3 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Navy creates new post for network-centric operations |url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/navy-creates-new-post-for-network-centric-operations-480508.html |website=News18 |access-date=26 December 2023 |language=en |date=4 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Navy creates new post for network-centric operations |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/navy-creates-new-post-for-network-centric-operations-112060300249_1.html |website=business-standard.com |access-date=26 December 2023}}</ref>

In 2013, a Technical Assistant PSO was created under the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff - '''ACNS (Air Materiel)'''. The same year, the position of ACNS (Ops) was upgraded to the rank of [[Vice admiral (India)|Vice Admiral]] and redesignated Director General Naval Operations (DGNO).{{sfn|Doraibabu|Godbole|2023}} In 2018, the post of '''ACNS (Staff Requirements)''' was created under the Vice Chief of Naval Staff.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rear Admiral Antony George assumes charge as Chief Staff Officer at Southern Naval Command |url=https://zeenews.india.com/india/rear-admiral-antony-george-assumes-charge-as-chief-staff-officer-at-southern-naval-command-2265224.html |website=Zee News |access-date=26 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Current organisation==
There are eight appointments of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff at naval headquarters. Four each are under the Staff Branch-I and Staff Branch-II headed by the Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff respectively.<ref name="Staff Branch-I">{{cite web |title=Staff Branch-I |url=https://indiannavy.nic.in/content/staff-branch-i |website=indiannavy.nic.in |access-date=26 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="Staff Branch-II">{{cite web |title=Staff Branch-II |url=https://indiannavy.nic.in/content/staff-branch-ii |website=indiannavy.nic.in |access-date=26 December 2023}}</ref>

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy & Plans)===
The directorates under the ACNS (P&P) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-I" />
* Directorate of Naval Plans
* Directorate of Works

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Air)===
The directorates under the ACNS (Air) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-II"/>
* Directorate of Naval Air Staff
* Directorate of Aircraft Acquisition
* Directorate of Air Warfare and Flight Safety
* Directorate of Aviation Projects Management

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Submarines)===
The ACNS (SM) reports into the Controller Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A). The directorate under the ACNS (Submarines) is:<ref name="Staff Branch-I" />
* Directorate of Submarine Acquisition

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Special Submarine Projects)===
The ACNS (SSP) reports into the [[Inspector General Nuclear Safety]]. The directorates under the ACNS (SSP) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-I" />
* Directorate of Nuclear Submarine Acquisition
* Directorate of Nuclear Submarine Project & Infrastructure

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence)===
The directorates under the ACNS (FCI) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-II"/>
* [[Directorate of Naval Intelligence (India)|Directorate of Naval Intelligence]]
* Directorate of Foreign Co-operation
* Media and Public Information Cell

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Communications, Space and Network Centric Operations)===
The ACNS (CSNCO) reports into the [[Director General Naval Operations]] (DGNO). The directorates under the ACNS (CSNCO) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-II"/>
* Directorate of Naval Signals
* Directorate Network and Space Operations
* Directorate of Network Centric Operations

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Air Materiel)===
The directorates under the ACNS (AM) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-II"/>
* Directorate Aircraft Systems Engineering
* Directorate of Air Projects & Plans
* Directorate of Air Logistics Support

===Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Staff Requirements)===
The directorates under the ACNS (SR) are:<ref name="Staff Branch-I" />
* Directorate of Staff Requirements
* Directorate of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence

==See also==
* [[Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Vice Chief of the Naval Staff]]
* [[Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (India)|Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{citation|first1=Gulab Mohanlal|last1=Hiranandani|title=Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975|year=1999|isbn= 978-1897829721|publisher= Spantech & Lancer}}
*{{citation|first1=Gulab Mohanlal|last1=Hiranandani|title=Transition to eminence : The Indian Navy 1976-1990|year=2005|isbn=978-8170622666|publisher=Lancer Publishers}}
*{{citation|last1=Hiranandani|first1=Gulab Mohanlal|year=2009|title=Transition to Guardianship: The Indian Navy, 1991–2000|publisher=Lancer Publishers LLC|isbn=978-1-935501-66-4}}
*{{citation|last1=Singh|first1=Anup|year=2018|title=Blue Waters Ahoy! The Indian Navy 2001–2010|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=9789353025526}}
* {{citation |last1=Doraibabu |first1=M |last2=Godbole|first2=Amrut| year=2023 |title=A Decade of Transformation: The Indian Navy 2011-2021 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers India|isbn=9789394407909}}

{{Indian Navy}}

[[Category:Indian Navy appointments]]
[[Category:Indian military appointments]]
[[Category:Assistant chiefs of staff]]

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (India) - Revision history

Tiwari63: created new info