Ramdas was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 September 1953, with seniority as a sub-lieutenant from the same date. He then attended the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich from December 1953 to May 1955, where he trained as a
communication specialist. He then served as the
Flag lieutenant to the first Indian
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral
Ram Dass Katari. Ramdas was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 16 August 1963. Ramdas was promoted to
Commander on 30 June 1969; he was appointed the first Officer-in-charge Naval Academy. He went on to establish and head the Naval Academy in
Kochi,
Kerala, for which he was awarded the
Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 1971. The Naval Academy moved to Goa in 1986 and to Ezhimala in Kerala in 2009 as the
Indian Naval Academy.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 During the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, as part of the newly formed Eastern Fleet, whilst in command of
INS Beas, Admiral Ramdas took part in the most effective naval blockade of
East Pakistan which frustrated Pakistan's attempt to evacuate 93,000 of their troops who eventually surrendered to the Indian Forces. INS
Beas also captured a large number of ships carrying contraband to East Pakistan, bombarded
Cox's Bazar and took part in the landing and other operations in an area which had been mined. He was awarded the
Vir Chakra, the third-highest gallantry award.
Post-war career After the war, Ramdas commanded a Patrol Vessel Squadron in the Indian Navy. He later served as
Naval Attaché in
Germany for three years, and was promoted to captain on 1 July 1976.
Flag rank Ramdas was promoted to acting
Rear Admiral 7 April 1981 (substantive from 1 June 1981) and took over as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) at NHQ. On 29 June 1983, he was appointed
Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), and also took command of the
Eastern Fleet. On 20 February 1986, he took over as
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DNCS). After an eighteen-month stint as DCNS, Ramdas was appointed
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command. He took command from Vice Admiral
Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani at Kochi. In February 1989, he moved to Vizag as the
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command. On 26 January 1989, he was awarded the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal. He was at the helm of the Eastern Naval Command for about twenty months.
Chief of Naval Staff Ramdas was appointed the next
Chief of the Naval Staff, succeeding Admiral
Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni. He took over as CNS on 30 November 1990. The
Chief of the Army Staff was
General Sunith Francis Rodrigues. On 1 August 1991,
Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Chandra Suri took over as the
Chief of the Air Staff. All the three service chiefs were from the same course, the 1st JSW, a first in India. On 30 June 1993, with the superannuation of General S. F. Rodrigues, Ramdas took over as
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. ==Personal life==