Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, AVSM has assumed charge of Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Naval Command on 31 Oct 11 at a Ceremonial Parade held at the Naval Base, Visakhapatnam.

Vice Admiral Chopra was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 01 Jul 1975. He is a graduate of the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and the National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi.

He is the recipient of the Binoculars for standing first in merit as a Naval Cadet, the Sword of Honour as a Midshipman, the Admiral RD Katari Trophy for topping the Long Gunnery Course, the Scudder Medal at the DSSC and the Colonel Pyarelal Medal at the NDC.

Besides serving on board ships in various Gunnery billets, Vice Admiral has commanded the Missile Corvette INS Kuthar, the Destroyer INS Rajput and the Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat.

His ashore appointments includes Principal Director Naval Plans at Naval Headquarters, New Delhi and Senior Instructor (Navy) at DSSC, Wellington. He has also served in Rome, Italy, in connection with induction of combat systems for Navy’s frontline units. Vice Admiral Chopra has also spent a year in Washington DC as a Senior Fellow at the United States Atlantic Council.

On promotion to Flag Rank in Aug 2005, the Vice Admiral Anil Chopra was appointed as Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command. During this tenure, the maiden Presidents Fleet Review on the Eastern Seaboard was held at Visakhapatnam, in Feb 06. After a short stint as the Assistant Controller of Carrier Production, he was appointed the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans). His last operational appointment was that of the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet. Prior to taking over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Anil Chopra server as the Director General, Indian Coast Guard (DGICG).

At the helm of the Indian Coast Guard for almost three years, the Admiral has propelled and overseen an exponential growth in the force levels and operations of the Coast Guard. In his capacity as the DGICG, he was the Chairman, of the Offshore Security Coordination Committee, the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board and the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency

The Flag Officer was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal for distinguished service in 2007.

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