R. F. Contractor

Vice Admiral Rustom Faramroze 'Rusi' Contractor, PVSM, AVSM, NM is a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. He last served as the 17th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, from 2006 to 2008. He earlier served as the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet and commanded the aircraft carrier .

Early life and education Contractor was born in Nagpur. He completed his education at the St. Francis De'Sales High School. He subsequently joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla in 1967.

Naval career Contractor was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 July 1971. After a few sea tenures, he opted to specialise in Navigation and Direction. In the late 80s, the Navy started to acquire offshore patrol vessels from South Korea. Contractor was the commissioning commanding officer lead ship of the Sukanya-class patrol vessel. He commissioned the vessel in South Korea on 31 August 1989 and brought her home to India. He attended the Naval higher command course (NHCC) at the College of Naval Warfare, Karanja.

Flag rank Contractor was promoted to acting rank of rear admiral and appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Staff - Information Warfare and Operations (ACNS IW&O). This appointment was that of an assistant Principal Staff Officer at Naval HQ. He subsequently moved to Kochi as the Chief of Staff (COS), Southern Naval Command. On 26 January 2005, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. After a year-long tenure as COS, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). He was the FOCWF during the President's fleet review in 2006, flying his flag on .

Contractor took command of the Western Fleet from Rear Admiral Pratap Singh Byce on 11 May 2005. After a year-long stint as FOCWF, he relinquished command, handing over to Rear Admiral Anup Singh. He moved to NHQ as the Assistant Controller of Carrier Projects (ACCP). On 31 August 2006, Contractor was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and took over as the 17th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DGICG), succeeding Director General Dr. P Paleri. During his tenure, the third Coast Guard air enclave (in Probandar) was commissioned. In 2007, he met with his Pakistani counterpart, the Director General Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Rear Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar to resolve issues regarding violation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The hotline between the two Director General was also established during his tenure.

He served as the DGICG over two-and-a-half years. He relinquished charge on 30 November 2008 to Vice Admiral Anil Chopra.

Post-retirement Contractor retired after 37 years of service on 30 November 2008. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2009 for his tenure as DGICG. In August 2009, the Armed Forces Tribunal was set up by an act of Parliament. Contractor was among the 15 administrative members of the tribunal, and was part of the Mumbai bench.

He is a freemason under the District Grand Lodge of Bombay.

Awards and decorations