V Adm Murugesan,, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd)

Vice Admiral P. Murugesan (Retd) is a distinguished former senior officer of the Indian Navy who served as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. Over nearly four decades of distinguished service, he held a wide range of operational, command, staff and strategic appointments, culminating in one of the Navy’s highest professional responsibilities.

A graduate of the Indian Naval Academy, Vice Admiral Murugesan was awarded the President’s Gold Medal, Telescope and Sword of Honour during his three phases of ab initio training, respectively. He subsequently served with distinction in a variety of challenging assignments and underwent professional training in both Russia and the United States. He attended the Staff Course as well as senior level professional training at premier US Navy training establishments. He also served as Naval Attaché at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C.

He commanded three Indian Naval warships and later served as Fleet Commander, Eastern Fleet, providing operational leadership of one of the Indian Navy’s principal maritime formations. His subsequent senior appointments included Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command, Chief of Personnel and Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.

His career has encompassed major operational, humanitarian assistance, and disaster-relief responsibilities, including coordinating the Indian Navy’s response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as the Principal Director of Naval Operations at the Naval Headquarters. His professional experience spans maritime operations, naval strategy, personnel management, international defence cooperation and higher defence organisation.

After retirement, he was appointed as the Military Judge of the Bombay Regional Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal on a four-year term. Now, he remains actively engaged in strategic affairs, defence studies, and maritime security, with a particular interest in India’s evolving strategic environment, the Indo-Pacific, and the future of conventional warfare under the nuclear shadow.