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An alumnus of Sherwood College Nainital and the Delhi Public School Mathura Road from where he completed his schooling in March 1976, he joined the prestigious National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla after a short six month stint studying History in Hindu College.
After getting commissioned, he volunteered to join the Submarine Arm in 1982 being one of the youngest ever to have done so and after a couple of years on board submarines, he underwent a specialisation in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) from the erstwhile Soviet Union and spent 15 months there.
He had the distinction of commissioning India's first Kilo class submarine, INS Sindhughosh as its ASW Officer responsible for the submarine weapons and underwater sensors on board.
After serving on board for over two years, a short tenure as an Instructor in the Submarine Warfare School at Visakhapatnam was followed by selection as the ASW Officer to commission the sixth Kilo class submarine, INS Sindhukesari in the Soviet Union. After successfully completing his Principal Control Officers Course, he served as the Executive Officer of INS Sindhuratna, during which time it was adjudged the Best Submarine on the West Coast. On completion he underwent the Submarine Commanding officers Qualifying Course and was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff's trophy for standing first. He was then nominated for the Defence Services Staff Course and on completion of that was appointed as the Staff Officer Operations and Plans under the Commodore Submarines on the East Coast tasked with planning the operational deployment of the submarines based there.
From mid-1994 to end-1998 , he had the privilege of commanding four submarines in succession which was unprecedented till then. In these four years two of the submarines under his command, INS Kursura and INS Sindhukesari were declared the best submarines on the east coast in successive years.
Having completed a long stint at sea culminating in command at sea, he was appointed to the Naval Headquarters in New Delhi as the Joint Director for Submarine Acquisition and thereafter as the Joint Director Naval Plans at a time when defence reorganisation was under discussion after the Kargil conflict. In these two assignments he was involved in drafting the Navy's 30 year submarine construction plan, the 15 year ship building plan and the Infrastructure Plan which have shaped the naval force level development in the last two decades. It was also an opportunity to gain an insight into the level of debate on defence matters in Parliament as he was responsible for coordinating and drafting the responses to all Parliamentary questions pertaining to the Navy and maritime security.
On being promoted to the rank of Captain in 2001, he underwent the Naval Higher Command Course and on completion was appointed as a Directing Staff there and was awarded the Chief of Naval Staff's Commendation for his value addition to the conduct of the course. From there he moved as the Senior Instructor (Navy) at the National Defence Academy which gave an opportunity to shape the future military leaders of the country.
It was back to sea thereafter as the Captain of the Fleet Underway Replenishment Ship INS Jyoti.
A stint in diplomacy followed from 2006 as the Defence and Naval Adviser in the United Kingdom during which period he was selected as the Doyen of the Defence Attache Association representing more than 100 countries. On return, his last appointment was as the Deputy Assistant Chief (Maritime) in the Perspective Planning and Force Development Branch of the MoD's Integrated Defence Staff. Here he authored the first 'Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap', which is the reference document for industry on the defence requirements over the next 15 years.
A post-graduate in Defence and Strategic Studies, he takes keen interest in matters maritime and writes and speaks on the subject in India and abroad. He is a Life member and adviser to various think tanks and has also been part of various Track 1.5 initiatives of multilateral organisations and is also a member of the national Defence Audit Advisory Board. He works closely with the Indian industry associations on defence procurement and indigenization issues and has been the Co-chairman of ASSOCHAM's National Defence and Aerospace Committee.
A keen rider and fond of the outdoors, he has represented the Navy in tennis. Presently his sporting exploits are restricted to the golf course.
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