On May 14, 2020, Lieutenant Commander Akshay Kumar of the Anti-Submarine Warfare School of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi was awarded the Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy for the year 2020 by Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief (FOC-in-C) of the SNC. The award ceremony was held at the Maritime Warfare Centre, Kochi, Kerala.
Key Points:
i.The trophy was instituted in the year 2013 for the officer performing best in Tactics during the year-long Warfare Specialisation Course.
ii.The top 5 trainee specialist officers from each of the four Warfare Specialisations, namely Anti Submarine Warfare, Gunnery, Communication and Navigation & Direction were assessed by a board of Officers from Maritime Warfare Center (Kochi) under the guidance of the Director- presently Commodore Simon Mathai.
iii.Other Prizes: Book prizes were awarded by the Commander-in-chief to Lieutenant Commander Anshu Bhau for standing second and to Lieutenant Commander Kuldeep Tyagi for the third position.
iv.Lieutenant Commander Mohit Kumar was also commended for performing exceeding well in the oral board akin to a Viva. On the Occasion, A.K. Chawla also emphasised the role of specialist officers at sea & the need for officers to be excellent professionals.
v.About Vice Admiral G.M. Hiranandani Memorial Rolling Trophy: The trophy was instituted in the memory of the late Vice-Admiral GM Hiranandani, who was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command from 1985 to 1987 and retired as Vice Chief of Naval Staff in 1989.
vi.Vice Admiral Hiranandani: He was also the author of 3 volumes of the Official History of the Indian Navy from 1965 to 2000- Transition to Triumph (1965-1975), Transition to Eminence (1976-1990) and Transition to Guardianship (1991-2000).
vii.Vice Admiral Chawla paid tribute to Vice Admiral Hiranandani for his incalculable contribution to the development of the Indian Navy and also chronicling its glorious history.
About Indian Navy:
Commander-in-Chief– President Ram Nath Kovind.
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNC)– Admiral Karambir Singh.
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS)– Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar.
Motto– Sham No Varunaḥ (May the Lord of the Water be auspicious unto us).
