Vice Admiral CR Praveen Nair, AVSM, NM, has officially taken over as Controller Personnel Services (CPS) at Naval Headquarters, a position he assumed on July 31, 2025. To mark the beginning of his term, he paid tribute at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, honoring the valor and sacrifices of the fallen heroes of the Indian Armed Forces.
Commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1991, Vice Admiral Nair is recognized as a Surface Warfare Officer, with distinctive expertise in Communications and Electronic Warfare. His exemplary career, enriched over more than three decades, includes commanding prominent Indian warships such as the Missile Corvette INS Kirch, the Guided Missile Destroyer INS Chennai, and the flagship Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya.
Throughout his career, Vice Admiral Nair has held various key positions, including Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans), and Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy. His academic credentials are bolstered by an M.Phil. in Defence and Strategic Studies from Mumbai University, along with the distinction of being an alumnus of the US Naval War College. There, he was honored with the Robert E. Bateman International Award and the Vice Admiral James H. Doyle Prize.
In recognition of his dedicated service, Vice Admiral Nair received the Nao Sena Medal in 2000 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025. His recent appointment as CPS positions him at a critical juncture for the Indian Navy, where he will oversee personnel management and human resource strategy during a period of significant expansion in the Navy’s force structure amid increasing maritime challenges.
His role as CPS comes at a time of proactive recruitment plans, including the induction of over 1,100 civilian personnel, as well as a push for enhanced naval infrastructure development in strategic regions such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In this capacity, Vice Admiral Nair is expected to contribute significantly by aligning the Navy’s personnel policies with its modernization goals in the Indo-Pacific, reinforcing the Navy’s commitment to adapting to contemporary security demands.
