USI Core Team

Major General Rajendra Singh Yadav, VSM (Retd)

Director Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation (CS3)

Major General Rajendra Singh Yadav, VSM (Retd) is presently Director of Centre for Strategic Studies & Simulation (CS3) at United Service Institution of India, New Delhi. He is President’s Awardee from the National Defence Academy, served an illustrious 38 years with the Infantry. He has rich operational experience of CI/CT operations and both Pak and China fronts. He was also a Defence Attache of India in the Middle East. Post superannuation, he has been Vice Chancellor of a University. Has travelled 31 countries, and has deep interest in International Relations, with specialisation in West Asian region.

Dr (Mrs) Roshan Khanijo

Assistant Director (Research)

Her academic qualification includes BSc, MA and PhD. Her area of interests is strategic issues particularly Nuclear Strategy, Nuclear profile of Nuclear Weapon States, Armament, Disarmament, Niche technologies etc. She has authored and edited books, monographs, occasional papers namely, “Complexities and Challenges of Nuclear India”, “The Indo-Pacific Region: Security Dynamics & Challenges”, “Iranian Nuclear Conundrum”, etc. She has been a panellist in various national and international panel discussions and a guest speaker at Air War College, Hyderabad, Southern Naval command, Kochi, OP Jindal Global University, etc. She was the member of the study team which did the Net Assessment on China, South Asia, Pakistan, etc for HQIDS.

Research Faculty

Brig S S Sharma (Retd)

Senior Research Fellow

Brig S S Sharma (Retd) is an ex NDA officer commissioned in the Corps of EME in Dec 1983. He is an alumnus of DSSC and HDMC. The officer specialises in A Vehicles. He has held important staff appointments like AMGO(P) at IHQ of MOD(Army) and CTO at ANC, Port Blair. He has also participated in UNIFIL(United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon). The officer superannuated in Aug 2017 and has worked both in Corporate and Educational domains post retirement. He holds BTech(M) degree and certification in Executive Program in Business Management at MDI, Gurgaon. Presently he is SRF at USI.

Brigadier Pawan Bhardwaj, YSM

Senior Research Fellow

Brigadier Pawan Bhardwaj is an Infantry Officer with 31 years of service experience in operational areas of Siachen Glacier, Line of Control and Counter Insurgency. He has commanded an Infantry Battalion in Counter Insurgency and an Infantry Brigade along the Line of Control in the High Altitude Area. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, he has held instructional appointments at the Army War College and the Infantry School. A five years tenure with Strategic Forces Command has given him a wholesome tri-service experience with a unique strategic perspective. His reading interests include Technology Trends, Information Warfare and Military Training. He is pursuing a Research Fellowship on Employment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at a Tactical Level with the United Service Institution of India, New Delhi.

Col Dheeraj Kumar

Senior Research Fellow

Col Dheeraj Kumar, an Infantry Officer, was commissioned into MAHAR Regt in 1999. Passed out from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he is an alumnus of DSSC, Wellington and CDM, Secunderabad. The officer has varied experience of serving in diverse operational environments. His staff exposure includes tenures with a Bde HQ in Operation MEGHDOOT, Div HQ as part of Strike Corps as well as with AHQ. He commanded his Unit in Obstacle Ridden Terrain in peace and in a CI/ CT environment in an altitude Area in J & K. The officer is currently pursuing a research fellowship from USI in ‘Salience of social media in Hybrid Operations’.

Col Maneesh Parthsarthy, VSM

Senior Research Fellow

Col Maneesh Parthsarthy, VSM is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadkwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was commissioned into the Second Battalion The 8th Gorkha Rifles on 11 Dec 1999. He has varied military experience by virtue of serving along the LC, LAC and AGPL with his unit in OP MEGHDOOT, OP AMAN, OP PARAKARAM and OP RAKSHAK. He has been an Instructor at the NDA, Senior Comd Wing and the Trg Task Force, Congo. He has excelled in military courses including the prestigious Defence Services Staff College Course and the Higher Command Course. He holds degrees in MSc and MPhil in Defense and Strategic Studies from Madras University and Punjab University. He commanded the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guard from 2014-2017. The officer before joining the USI was serving as Director, Evaluation and Monitoring of Investments, AGIF. He is currently pursuing a Research Fellowship from USI on ‘Emerging Disruptive Technologies and their impact on the future Battlefields’.

Col Suraksh Vir

Senior Research Fellow

Colonel Suraksh Vir was commissioned in the Indian Army in the Corps of Signals on 06 Dec 1997. He is an alumnus of IMA Dehradun, MCTE Mhow and IIT Kharagpur. He did his MTech in ‘Electronics and Electrical Communication from IIT Kharagpur in 2010. He has Commanded two units and has also tenanted important staff appointments as Joint Director, NFS Cell, DCSO, HQ 11 Corps and Col Sigs (Proj Mgt), HQ 4 Corps. As Commanding Officer he raised 17 Corps Operating Signal Regiment from 2013 to 2016 and Commanded 101 IFSU a strategic Intelligence Unit from 2018 to 2022 where he was awarded Vice Chief of Army Commendation Card in 2021. He is pursuing a Research Fellowship from USI on ‘Enhancing Offensive Cyber Capability at National Level’.

Tanya Jain

Research Assistants

Tanya Jain is currently a Research Assistant at the Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation (CS3), United Service Institution of India (USI). She holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Delhi University. She has also pursued Diploma in International Affairs from Indian Institute of Leadership and Governance. Prior to her current role, Tanya worked with Netri Foundation as a communication intern building communication content for key stakeholders. She has published articles with the international Prism on various topics like Sudan crisis, India’s foreign policy post Modi and Indo-Srilanka Relation during economic crisis. Her research interests primarily revolve around South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Manah Popli

Research Assistant

Manah Popli is a Research Assistant at the USI Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation. She is a graduate in International Relations from South Asian University (a SAARC initiative), New Delhi. Where her thesis centred around Films, Criminal Profiling and Visual (In) Security. Her areas of research interest are West Asia, East Asia, and Critical Security Studies.

CS3