New Delhi: Vice Admiral SR Sarma has taken over as Controller Warship Production and Acquisition (CWP&A) of Indian Navy on Saturday. He will take the baton from Vice Admiral Ajay Kumar Saxena, who was serving at the same position since October 31, 2018, a press release from the Ministry of Defence said.

Commissioned in the Indian Navy on March 31, 1983, Vice Admiral SR Sarma is an electrical engineer. He had served as an electrical officer of guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore. As a Flag Officer, SR Sarma has held appointments as Assistant Chief of Materiel (Information Technology & Systems) at Naval Headquarters, Admiral Superintendent Dockyard at Visakhapatnam, Chief Staff Officer (Tech) at Eastern Naval Command, Director General Naval Projects at Visakhapatnam and Principal Director Advanced Technology Vessel Project at Delhi.

As CWP&A, SR Sarma would be the controller of acquisition of all ships and submarines under production at shipyards, both Indian and foreign. He would head the design directorates of the Navy responsible for designing ships and submarines and also the steering directorates project ships and submarines under construction.

Vice Admiral Saxena who retires on Saturday, after putting in a distinguished service in the Indian Navy of more than 38 years, had a tenure of 13 months as CWP&A from November 1, 2018.