Rajendra Singh will be the new director general of the Coast Guard. This is the first time that the force will get a chief from its own internal cadre since it was set up in 1978 as the country’s fourth armed force after the Army, Navy and IAF. He will replace Vice Admiral H. C. S. Bisht. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved Rajendra Singh’s appointment.  The director general’s post has so far only been held by officers who were commissioned in the Indian Navy.

Rajinder Singh is currently additional director general of the Coast Guard. A 1980 batch officer, he was the first from the Coast Guard cadre to be elevated to three-star officer when the defence ministry approved his apppointment to his currnt post in in 2013.

Singh has commanded each class of Coast Guard Ship in service, which includes the Interceptor Boat, Inshore Patrol Vessel, Fast Patrol Vessel, Offshore Patrol Vessel and Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel. In the early 1980s, when smuggling was at its zenith in Indian waters, he was actively involved in apprehending numerous maritime economic offenders.

The Indian Coast Guard was created under the Coast Guard Act by parliament in 1978. An interim Coast Guard was formed earlier in 1977.