Vice Admiral (Ret.) Pradeep Chauhan is currently the Director-General of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, which is India’s foremost resource centre for the development and advocacy of strategies for the promotion and protection of India’s maritime interests.   The Vice Admiral retired from the Indian Navy in December 2013 after a distinguished four-decade-long service career, during which he was the Principal Director of National Operations and thereafter went on to command the Indian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier of that period, the Viraat. As a Rear Admiral, he was the Navy’s first Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence), where he conceptualised and executed the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). As a Vice Admiral, he was Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command; and was, in his last naval appointment before retirement, the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy (Ezhimala). He has been commended three times by the President of India for sustained distinguished service.