MAJ GEN S B ASTHANA, SM, VSM (Retd)
Globally acknowledged Strategic and Security Analyst authored over 400 publications. Veteran Infantry General with 45 years of experience at national and varied international fields. Former Director General Infantry in Indian Army, Head of Training Team in Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Held various key appointments in Army and United Nations.
TV commentator, Speaker in various Strategic, Military forums, UN Organisations, Think tanks, and Universities. Interviewed by various National and International news channels/newspapers/organizations on strategic, military, and UN-related subjects. Currently On Governing/Security Council Confederation of Education Excellence CEE, International Organisation of Education Development (IOED), and other UN Organisations. On Advisory Board of Global Advisors Consultants Corporation, member Expert Group Challenges Forum, IOED representative in UN Headquarters, Vienna, Austria. Chief Instructor, USI of India, the oldest think tank of India. Distinguished Expert, Bharat Centre of Canada. Advisor Amity University, Bharat Media LLC, USA.
Awarded twice by President of India, twice by UN, CEE excellence award for Nation building by Governor of Haryana. Awarded for “International Diplomacy and Global Conflict Resolutions” by IOED twice, a Consultative body for ECOSOC and International Police Commission – IPC India, by former Prime Minister of Moldova.
He is an Infantry Officer who has served in disturbed areas in nearly all ranks. He was wounded in an encounter in J&K. The Officer attended the Staff Course with a competitive vacancy and then served at the DSSC as a DS and later as SI. He was adjudged the best student on the Senior Command Course. He served in the SC Wing later as a DS. He has also attended the HC and NDC courses. The Officer served as BM of an Inf Bde in J&K, BGS of a Corps and MGGS of Northern Command. The Officer raised a RR Sector and commanded the same J&K in 1994-1996. He was GOC of a RAPID and was Commandant of the IMA Dehradun before retirement. He was also a elected Colonel of the Jat Regt.
Major General PJS Sandhu was commissioned into the Light Cavalry in June 1966 and later commanded an Armoured Regiment. He retired as Chief of Staff of a Corps on 31 July 2003. Post retirement, he worked as Deputy Director and Editor at the USI from 2007 – 2016. He visited China in 2008 to participate in the Second Xiangshan Forum and again led a USI delegation to China in 2013 at the invitation of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS).He has done extensive research on India’s wars since Independence. He has contributed to and edited a USI Study titled “1962 – A View from Other Side of the Hill” which was released in 2015. He is a keen student of Military History, Strategy and Geo-politics.
Brig Mandeep Singh (Retd), an NDA alumni, was commissioned into the Regt of Arty in Dec 81 and superannuated from service in Nov 2018. He has commanded a Fd Regt in the Gurez Sector, and on being inducted into General Cadre he commanded a RR Sector. He is qualified on DSSC, SC and HC Courses, He was awarded Lentaigne Medal for the best dissertation during DSSC. He has also attended RT&TC (Range Techniques and Technology Course) conducted by IAT Girinagar. He has been Instructor at IMA, School of Artillery, Senior Command Wing and Higher Command Wing at the Army War College. He has been BM of an Infantry Brigade and Col GS of an Infantry Division. In addition, he has held appointments as DACIDS (International Defence Cooperation) at HQ IDS and BGS (Comb Power) at ARTRAC. He was a Military Observer with UN Mission in Liberia and held appointment of an instructor for at Chilean War College at Santiago, Chile. He was Co-Chair of Indo German Military Cooperation Group for two years. 
Brig (Retd) Rahul K Bhonsle is an army veteranwith over three decades of active service. He is an independent consultant on research in Defence and Security issues in South Asia. He has written a number of books on defence and security issues, and is a Directing Staff for USI of India Correspondence Courses on Military History for over a one and a half decade.
He is an EME Officer commissioned in Dec 1982. An M Tech in Computer Science from IIT Madras, he has attended the DSSC and Higher Command Course. The Officer Commanded an Intermediate Workshop in the Kashmir Valley, an EME Bn in Op Parakram and the 515 ABW. He has tenanted various Staff and Instructional Appts including GSO-1 in COAS Sectt, Col MS EME, DDG IT and Instructor in MCTE Mhow and Faculty of Studies Army War College. He has served in the Corporate Sector as COO for 10 years after retirement.
Col Deb Prakash Das (Retd), an alumnus of RIMC and NDA was commissioned into the Army Air Defence in June 1977. He commanded a newly raised Lt AD Msl Regt (SP). He had instructional tenure in the School of Artillery, Deolali, and Staff tenure the Army HQ and HQ 28 Inf Div. He is fond
of reading & writing and follows Current Affairs keenly.
An NDA graduate, he was commissioned on 08 Jun 1985 in the Mechanised Infantry. He has attended the DSTSOC and SC courses. The officer has had two tenures with Cabinet Sect, first as Cdo Pl Cdr at PROJECT SUNRAY and later Commanded a Vikas Battalion. The officer has held various staff appointments at Brigade, Corps, Command and Army Headquarters, viz, DAA & QMG of an Armd Bde, GSO 1 Doctrine Branch ARTRAC, Dir ETRC Army HQ, Col GS (EM) in a Corps HQ in the NE and Dir DSC HQ South Western Command. Besides military courses, the officer has done MBA from IGNOU, Professional Course for Service Officers from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Solar Engineers Course and PVSyst Capsule from National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE). 
Col RS Gill is a NDA Graduate and an Infantry Officer with 36 years of Service. Apart from the TSC Course on a competitive vacancy, he is also an MBS from Devi Ahilya University, Indore. He has been an Instructor at the IMA raised a new Rashtriya Riffle Unit and was a Senior Instructor at NSG Training Center. He is a keen student of military related Science & Technology issues.
Col ( Dr) Ram Athavale, an NDA alumnus, is an 1981 Batch veteran Armoured Corps officer. He commanded his regiment during Op Parakram. Col Athavale has held numerous General Staff appointments in his three decades of active service. Recipient of the Chief of Army Staff Commendation, he has experience in active counter insurgency in Manipur and at HQ Andaman & Nicobar Command for immediate post Tsunami resurgence. He was last posted as Director CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear [CBRN]) at the Directorate of Perspective Planning, Army Headquarters. 
Col Vinod Batra is a Corps of Signals Army veteran with more than 52 years of experience in various forms of military technologies - 35 years in Indian Army and thereafter with the corporate sector since last 20 years. He is a B.Tech. (Electrical) and post graduate (M.Tech. in Heavy electrical equipment) from Maulana Azad College of Technology (REC), Bhopal. He has done MBA in Operations management with distinction. He completed the Technical Staff College (PTSC) with “A” Grading. He Commanded an Engineering Signal regiment and Air Support Signal unit. He also served as Director, Signal Intelligence. While serving as Col “Q” at a Corps HQ in J&K, he was awarded GOC-in C’s Commendation for distinguished service. As a basic DS for SMT in USI, his guidance to aspiring students for DSSC and other promotion exams for many years, has indeed been very useful. He has also contributed his expertise in development of army war-games among other technology related issues.
The Gen Offr was commissioned into the AAD on 20 Dec 1970. He commanded an AD Msl Regt (SP) and later commanded an (Indep) Mech AD Bde. He has been an instructor in AD wing, School of Arty and SC Wg , Army War College. He has done a number of courses incl LGSC (AD), OAC (USA- Fort Bliss), DSSC (Competitive Nomination), HC and NDC. He has held a number of important command and staff appointments including Brig Adm of a Strike Corps and MG-ic-Adm of a Command. He superannuated in Aug 2007 while serving as ADGWE. He has been a faculty with the USI in the subject of Tactics for many years.
He was commissioned in Mar 1976 in the Corps of Signals as a Technical Graduate. The General Officer has commanded a Signal Regiment in the sensitive Akhnur Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and attended the Higher Command (HC) and APPPA Courses and Advanced Communications Course in Signals Academy Leningrad, (Russia). In his 35 years of distinguished military career, he has tenanted important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments which include command of an IW Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of 15 Corps. He was also responsible for Cyber Security of Indian Army and Spectrum Management for the three services.
Maj Gen JN Yadav (Retd) was commissioned in the Army Air Def in November 1973 and later had the honour of commanding an Air Def Regt (SP) equipped with Schilka Weapon System. He has tenanted a No of important Comd and Staff appointments. Besides being a Team Leader at UNOMIL, Liberia, he also had an instructional tenure at DSSC Wellington where he took part in several seminars. He was Dy Comdt and CI at the Army AD College, Gopalpur from where he superannuated in May 2011. 
Major General Jagatbir Singh was commissioned into the Cavalry in December 1981.During his 38 years of
service in the Army he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments. He has served in varied terrains in the country. He has also
served in a United Nations Peace Keeping Mission as a Military Observer in Iraq and Kuwait in the period between the two Gulf Wars. He has been a BM of a
Mountain Brigade and Instructor at the IMA and SI at the Staff College, Wellington. He has commanded an Armoured Regiment, an Armoured Brigade as part
of the Desert Corps, where he was responsible for the conversion of the Brigade to Arjun tanks and the prestigious First Armoured Division as part of the
Strike Corps. 
An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the officer was commissioned in December 1981. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College and College of Defence Management. The officer has tenanted important command and staff appointments in his service career to include that of a Brigade Major, an AMS at MS Branch, Col GS of an Infantry Division, Col Adm of a RAPID Division besides having been a Military Observer with United Nations Mission in Rwanda. He had also been responsible organising and conducting joint training with foreign armies of Infantry units in India and abroad. He has also been Assistant Director General of Assam Rifles, GOC of a Sub Area and Provost Marshal of Indian Army. A keen student of geopolitics, he is very well versed with global affairs.
Maj Gen Pankaj Saxena, VSM, an NDA alumnus was commissioned into the ASSAM REGIMENT in December 1981. The officer has held various command, instructional and staff appointments and has served in varied terrain and regions of the country including the NE and J&K at tactical
& operational levels.
Major General Shammi Raj, AVSM, SM, (Retd) is a multi-disciplinary professional with over 37 years of experience in the Regiment of Arty of the Indian Army. The General Officer has served in all Theatres including the LC, LAC, the Western Borders and Counter-Insurgency Operations in J&K and the North-East. He has commanded his unit in High Altitude Area along the LAC & in CI Operations, an Independent Infantry Brigade in HAA in Kargil along the LC and an Infantry Division along the Western Borders.
He is a second-generation soldier, Officer. Passed out of IMA in Dec 1972 and was commissioned into the Gorkha Riffles and commanded a GR Unit. He has served in Frontier areas of the country including the highly active insurgency areas. He has attended the DSSC, HDMC and NDC Courses. He has held many important Staff and Command appointments including BGS of a Corps in the NE and ADG (SD) at the Army HQ. He has been member of the Indo-US JWC on UN Peace Keeping. He commanded the CI Force (Uniform) and retired on 03 Mar 2009. Post retirement, he trained in Homeland Security in Israel and served as a consultant for the same.
is an independent researcher in the fields of International Humanitarian Law, Military Law, and Human Rights Law. He has completed Ph.D in ‘Law and Governance’ from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 2007; the topic of research was “Military Justice System in India: An Analysis.”He has authored 32 books and contributed more than 150 articles on subjects relating to the military legal system, international humanitarian law and human rights in various international and Indian journals and newspapers.Wg Cdr Jha has been Basic DS for Military Law at USI, New Delhi for many years and has also been conducting Mil Law classes for Pre-Staff Course/ DSSC at various Commands since then.
Maj Gen Aditya Jung Bahadur Jaini is an Infantry officer.He is an alumni of the NDA,AWC,DSSC and the NDC. He has varied experience of command & staff in all types of terrain. He has commanded a Rashtriya Rifles task force and was awarded the AVSM. An M.Phil in Defence & Strategic Studies he is also a Gold Medal Holder in Law(LLB).A widely travelled man, he has been mentoring DSSC aspirants for the USI in the subjects of TAC B ,TAC A and Current Affairs since many years.
An infantry officer of repute, he is a passionate instructor. He was instructor Class B at IMA Dehradun, Tactical Wing of Armoured Corps Centre & School and Directing Staff at the Senior Command Wing and finally commanded The Army War College. He has been associated with the Course Section at USI since 1980. He has made an immense contribution towards teaching officers the art of writing Tactical Appreciations which has had a profound effect on their military career.
He was commissioned into The Scinde Horse in Dec 1983. The officer is a fourth generation army officer . He has commanded an Independent Recce Sqn in the desert sector, and has the distinction of being the first Armoured Corps Officer to command an Assam Rifles Battalion in Counter Insurgency Operations in Manipur and Nagaland, as well as the first General Cadre Officer to command a Strategic Forces Brigade. He then commanded 12 Infantry Division (RAPID) in Western Sector.
An Armoured Corps Officer who served in the Indian Army for nearly 40 years. Commanded an Armd regt, an Armd Bde, a Sub Area and an Infantry Division, He also served as the ADG MI (A) and was the Director General of Operational Logistics & Strategic Movement prior to superannuation. He has attended all prestigious Defence Courses, namely Tank Technology Course, DSSC, Higher Command Course and the National Defence College. He is widely travelled and has interacted with several Foreign Delegations. He has deep insight into strategic thinking prevailing in various countries and is aware about the functioning of their Defence/Security organisations and Training Institutes.
A second generation Armoured Corps Officer, he is an alumnus of the NDA and was commissioned in December 1979. He is a graduate of the Tank Technology Course and has been the DQ of an Independent Armoured Brigade. After successful command of his Regiment, he was posted as the Armour Instructor at the School of Artillery, Devlali. Thereafter, he served as Senior Instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare, ACC&S, Ahmednagar. He has been an instructor at a number of pre-staff courses while in service. He superannuated in January 2013. He writes for periodicals and has authored a book on Indian Tank Battles. He has guided DSSC aspirants in Tac B and Military History papers since quite some time and is also a Guest Instructor at Command Pre Staff Courses.
An alumnus of the NDA, he was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery. A Silver Gunner, he has undergone the LGSC, DSSC and is a graduate of the NDC. He has commanded a Med Regt and a Composite Arty Bde. He was DDG at the Perspective Planning Directorate, MG Arty of an Operational Comd, Comdt of Selection Centre South in Bangalore and ADG Artillery at Army HQ. He has also served as the Defence Attaché to Vietnam where he cultivated interest in China related issues. The officer is a M.Phil from Madras University and completed his Ph.D. from Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science. An Academic, Defence Analyst, Public Speaker and a Prolific Author, he has several path-breaking books, articles and podcasts to his credit. He participated in the International Seminar on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the National Library, Kolkata on 23 Jan 2021; an event graced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. He has been guiding DSSC aspirants at the USI in Tac B since many years now.
An Infantry officer, he is an alumnus of the NDA. He has seen extensive service in the NE and other insurgency infested areas of the country. He has been an instructor at the Infantry School Mhow, IMTRAT and the DSSC. He has been associated with Pre Staff courses of various comds and the USI since last many years for mentoring and guiding DSSC aspirants in the subjects of Tac B and CA.
Brig M S Patial, an infantry officer is an alumni of the NDA. A DSSC and LDMC Qualified officer, he has held various instructional, command and staff appointments at Bde, Div and Corps level. He was one of the first few officers selected to raise the elite anti-terrorist force - National Security Guards. He commanded his Bn on Line of Control in the Valley and Indep Inf Bde in Rajouri sector. He was awarded “Chair of Excellence” by United Services Institute (USI) and has worked on the subject of “Consequence Management : WMD Terrorism”. The work has been published as a book, which is now being used as a reference book in various army and PMF academies. He has been with the USI since long and has been guiding the DSSC student officers, mainly in Tac B and Military History subjects.
AVM Amit Aneja is a veteran fighter pilot awarded with three presidential awards for distinguished service. He holds a M Phil in Defence and Strategic studies and is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College in USA and of National Institute of Defence Studies in Japan. He has also attended “Air battle Management and Planning Course” at CASPOA in France. He is a keen observer of National Security Policy Process and geo-politics. He has also been involved in Track II discussions. He guides USI IAF DSSC Entrance Correspondence Course aspirants.
Lt Gen Anil Ahuja, an Arty offr is a former Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff for Policy Planning and Force Development. He commanded a Corps and a Mountain Division in Arunachal Pradesh, in the Eastern Command. He also commanded a RR Sector in J&K. 
An alumni of Sainik School, Goalpara and National Defence Academy. He was commissioned to 5 Garhwal Rifles and later commanded the same unit. As a Brigadier he commanded an Assam Rifles new raising Sector at Churachandpur, Manipur. He has also attended DSSC as well as LDMC. He also has rich experience in serving in varied staff appointments including inter service assignment at IDS, New Delhi. Besides USI, Brigadier Sarmah is a member of other Think Tanks and also an examiner for Civil Services Examinations (Mains), UPSC for nearly a decade. He has remained associated with studies on subjects related to Armed Forces in some form or the other.
Colonel Vijay Bhushan was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery. He has attended the prestigious DSSC and LGSC Courses. The offr has participated in the 1971 war as a Forward Observation Officer the desert sector in which his unit was awarded the battle honour PARBAT ALI. He has served as DAA&QMG in a mountain brigade in counter insurgency environment in Manipur. Having commanded a Field Regiment, he has been an Examiner for DSSC Entrance Examination. The offr has served as a Colonel Instructor at the Tactical wing of School of Artillery Deolali and Institute of Armament Technology, Girinagar Pune. Since retirement, he is with the USI to guide aspirants for DSSC/DSTSC Courses.
Lt Gen PJS Pannu is a Second generation inf offr. An alumnus of the IMA and the DSSC, he is qualified in Combat Engr Course, HC and NDC Courses. He comd his unit and an Inf Bde on the LoC and an Inf Div & a Corps on the LAC. An instr at the IMA, he had tenures in MO, PP Dtes and been a Col MS Corps and the Dy MA to the COAS. He has been on two UN msns at Mozambique and Sudan. He has handled many imp assignments at the IDS as the DACIDS (ops). A PhD in Business Mgt from ISB, Hyderabad, he is a prolific speaker, having spoken at the LBSNAA, Mussoorie, Def Expo, CEERI, the NDA, Amity University and at other forums. Passionate about Technology, he heads the FICCI task force on ICT in Defence. On bd a few Companies on Tech related projects , he is also associated with the DRDO. He has written a book, ‘The Power of Future Mechanics’ and is a regular contribution to various def & strat related publications. He has been associated with the USI since quite some time.
The officer has served the IAF for more than three decades. He has experience of more than 2500 Air combats. He has undertaken AD operations in the Western, J&K and NE sectors. As part of Air Staff Inspections at Air HQs, he inspected and audited AD ops at various AF Stations, including AWACS. He has commanded six Air Defence (C&R) Units which were awarded Best Unit Trophies twice. He was Director Air Staff Inspections and retired as Director, Joint Control and Analysis Centre and was Commended by the CAS, AOC-in-Cs of Western Air Command and South Western Air Command. Above apart, he was Associate Dean & Professor at the School of Business (Aviation Management) at Galgotias University, Greater NOIDA. He has written a number of research papers for journals and websites. The officer is currently a Senior Fellow at CAPS, a member of the Advisory Council of Greater Noida Institute of Technology (GNOIT) and a member of the Advisory Board (Academic Affairs) at Foreign Policy School, New Delhi. His study areas are Air Power, International Relations and Strategic Geopolitical dynamics . At the USI, he guides the IAF DSSC Entrance Exam aspirants.
Brig Harish Ratnaparkhi (Retd) is an Infantry officer with 37 years of service. He has served in almost all sectors to include J&K, Ladakh, NE, Deserts & Plains. He has been Instructor at the IMA, Inf School and CDM. He has served as BM of the Siachen Bde, Dy Cdr Poonch Bde & Dir at Army HQ. The officer served in the United Nations missions namely ONUMOZ (Mozambique) and UNAMIR (Rwanda). He won the Best Student prize in Geography at NDA and Military History at the IMA . While in service, he won the COAS Medal in Essay Writing Competition in 1987. His article was published in the USI Journal too. The officer is a keen student of Military History and Geopolitics. He is a guide to DSSC aspirants in the field of Military History.
Brig Sanjeev Devasthali, an NDA alumnus, was commissioned into Artillery and later inter arms transferred to the Corps of EME. A Bachelor of Technology (Electronics), he has specialised in Computer Science and Management Studies. He topped with Distinction in all. A DSSC and HDMC course qualified officer, he has held diversified Command and Staff Appointments. He was conferred COAS CC twice for Gallantry as also for Distinguished Service. An instructor at the MCE ME Secunderabad and EME School Baroda in the fields of Electronics, Cmptrs and comn, Armt, Opto-electronics and Veh tech, the offr was Director RMG in IHQ of MoD, CE (Electronics) HQ Technical Group, Commandant & MD of 509 Army Base Workshop, BGS (Info Sys), and the Dy MS-16. He has presented and published several papers on GIS, Robotics, Life Cycle Sustainment of Electronics Systems, Obsolescence Management of Electronics/Optoelectronics Systems and Science & Technology for Sustainable Development. The offr guides DSSC aspirants in the field of SMT.
An NDA alumnus commissioned in a Field Regiment which he later commanded. He attended SC, DSSC and LGSC courses and had a varied experience in the army in all types of terrain. He has served as Registrar in IGNOU and Director & Professor in Manav Rachna international University and Amity University. The officer is actively involved in education and training in disaster management and security. Along with this he has published articles for different university courses also. The officer has been associated with the USI since long for providing guidance to DSSC aspirants.
Maj Gen Rajiv Nanda SM, was commissioned into the Infantry. He has attended the DSSC and CDM Courses. In his 37 years of military career, he has tenanted important command, staff and instructional appointments. He has rich operational experience and has commanded a Battalion, Brigade and Division, all as part of Rashtriya Rifles in J&K. He was Major General (Administration) for HQ Northern Command in J&K and ADG Recruitment as also served in the MS Branch and the COAS Sectt. He has been an instructor in Infantry School, Mhow and Head of Faculty (Brig) at the CDM . He has been part of Three UN missions in Mozambique, Angola and Congo. He guides DSSC aspirants and is a keen student of Current Affairs, Geopolitics apart from keeping abreast with service subjects
Arpita Biswas is a Researcher at United Services Institute of India. She has completed her PhD from the Center of Russian and Central Asian Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Her research interest focuses on the current Indian defense ecosystem, indigenization efforts, military industrial complex and the intricate landscape of public-private-academia synergy in India as well as understanding the evolution and ramifications of these critical domains. Her research interests further include studying the complexities inherent in the rapidly growing drone ecosystem, the strategic imperatives and technological advancements that underpin India’s efforts to achieve self-reliance and indigenization in the drone sector while looking into the current synergistic collaboration between public and private entities to boost defense capabilities and technological prowess.