Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, AVSM, VSM, has assumed charge as the 40th Chief of Materiel on 01 Nov 2025. The officer is an alumnus of the 70th Course, NDA and was commissioned as an Electrical Officer into the Indian Navy on 01 Jul 1987. He holds Master's Degrees in Electrical Engineering from IIT Chennai, is a post graduate in Higher Defence Management from Osmania University, MPhil from Madras University and is an alumnus of National Defence College. During his over 38 years of service, he has held appointments in the Naval Headquarters, HQ ATVP, Naval Dockyards and Command Headquarters. He has served onboard frontline warships, Indian navy Ships Ranjit, Kirpan and Akshay and has commanded the premier Electrical Training Base, INS Valsura. The Admiral holds the distinction of being at the helm of affairs of both the key Electrical Directorates of Weapons Equipment and Electrical Engineering at NHQ and has served in both Naval Dockyards in East and West coasts. As a Flag Officer, he has served as Additional Director General (Tech) Project Seabird, Chief Staff Officer (Tech) at HQWNC and Admiral Superintendent of Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. He was also Programme Director, HQ ATVP followed by Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition and Director General Naval Projects at Visakhapatnam. In recognition of his service, the Admiral has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. He takes over from Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh, AVSM, VSM who hands over the baton on completion of over 39 years of service. The news was posted on 01 NOV 2025 11:23AM by PIB Delhi.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Defence: The central authority responsible for coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian armed forces.
Chief of Materiel: The head of the Materiel Branch in the Indian Navy, responsible for technical functions related to naval engineering and electrical engineering.
Indian Navy: The naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces.
Naval Headquarters: The main headquarters of the Indian Navy.
Mumbai: Location of the Naval Dockyard where Vice Admiral B Sivakumar previously served as Admiral Superintendent.
Ministry of Defence
VICE ADMIRAL B SIVAKUMAR, AVSM, VSM,
ASSUMES CHARGE AS THE CHIEF OF
MATERIEL
Posted On: 01 NOV 2025 11:23AM by PIB Delhi
Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, AVSM, VSM has assumed charge as the 40th Chief of Materiel on 01 Nov
2025. He is an alumnus of 70th Course, NDA and was commissioned as an Electrical Officer into the
Indian Navy on 01 Jul 1987. The Flag Officer holds Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering from
IIT Chennai, is a post graduate in Higher Defence Management from Osmania University, MPhil
from Madras University and is an alumnus of National Defence College. During his distinguished and
illustrious service of over 38 years, the Flag Officer has held various key appointments in the Naval
Headquarters, HQ ATVP, Naval Dockyards and Command Headquarters. He has served onboard
frontline warships, Indian navy Ships Ranjit, Kirpan and Akshay and has commanded the premier
Electrical Training Base, INS Valsura.
The Admiral holds the rare distinction of being at the helm of affairs of both the key Electrical
Directorates of Weapons Equipment and Electrical Engineering at NHQ and has served in both Naval
Dockyards in East and West coasts. He has deep experience in many diverse fields, in technologies,
projects, as well as Technical Administration. As a Flag Officer, he has served as Additional Director
General (Tech) Project Seabird, Chief Staff Officer (Tech) at HQWNC and Admiral Superintendent of
Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. On completion of his tenure as the Assistant Chief of Materiel
(Information Technology & Systems) at Naval Headquarters, he was promoted to the rank of Vice
Admiral and appointed as Programme Director, HQ ATVP followed by Controller of Warship
Production & Acquisition and Director General Naval Projects at Visakhapatnam. In recognition of
his distinguished service, the Admiral has been awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht
Seva Medal.
Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, AVSM, VSM takes over as Chief of Materiel from Vice Admiral Kiran
Deshmukh, AVSM, VSM who hands over the baton on completion of over 39 years of glorious
service. Well known as distinguished leader and a thorough professional Flag Officer of the Indian
Navy, Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh had displayed a fine combination of professional excellence
and leadership to steer the Navy technically towards being future ready and ensuring that Indian
Naval Platforms are combat worthy and capable of undertaking full spectrum of operations. The
highest readiness of Naval Assets during Operation Sindoor over prolonged deployment, is a
testimony to his foresight, planning and leadership.***
VM/SKY
(Release ID: 2185041) Visitor Counter : 2429
Read this release in: ही