The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) is a statutory position in the Indian Armed Forces, that is usually held by a three star vice admiral. The Vice Chief is the deputy of the Chief of the Naval Staff and is usually the second highest ranking officer of the Indian Navy. The current VCNS is Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan who took over from Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on 1 May 2024.

The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) is the office of the professional head of the Indian Navy (IN), the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. Customarily held by a four-star admiral, the CNS is the senior-most operational officer of the IN, tasked with the roles of supervising the force's overall functioning during peace and wartime, along with the execution of India's strategic maritime objectives, namely, the defence of the country's maritime sovereignty around its territorial waters, and the realization of both its domestic-cum-international security interests vis-à-vis maritime vigilance across international sea lines. Also a permanent member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and the National Security Council (NSC), the CNS also bears the responsibility of advising the nation's civilian leadership i.e., the Government of India on all matters privy to the IN.