# List of National Defence Academy alumni

The Indian National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three armed forces (the Army, the Navy and the Air Force) train together before beginning pre-commission training at their respective service academies (Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), and Air Force Academy (AFA) for army, navy, and air force cadets respectively). Established in 1954 and located in vicinity of Khadakwasla Dam, near Pune, it is the world's first tri-service academy.
NDA is not the only officer training academy in India. Besides NDA, which is tri-service academy, the Indian Army's IMA, Officers Training Academy (OTA), Army Cadet College (ACC), the Indian Navy's INA, and the Air Force's AFA are the other officer training academies of India. Besides cadets from NDA, these academies accept cadets separately from several streams. Apart from these, the Indian Army has three establishments for technical stream which include College of Military Engineering (CME), Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), and Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME). Although cadets are imparted technical training at these three academies, they are commissioned through OTA, Gaya. Excluding all these establishments, which are meant for combat arms, the Indian Army has other commissioning academies for support services such as the Medical Corps, and the Judge Advocate General's Department for example.
Similarly, the Aeronautical Engineers (Electronics) and Aeronautical Engineers (Mechanical) are trained at the Air Force Technical College at Jalahalli, Bengaluru; the Meteorological branch officer cadets get their training at Air Force Administrative College, Coimbatore.
NDA alumni have led and participated in every major conflict in which the Indian Armed Forces have been called into action since the academy was founded. Alumni include three Param Vir Chakra recipients and twelve Ashoka Chakra recipients. The NDA has produced 36 service chiefs of staff, including the incumbent chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

## Chiefs of staff

As of September 2023, the academy has produced fourteen Chiefs of the Army Staff (COAS), twelve Chiefs of the Naval Staff (CNS) and ten Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS). All incumbent service chiefs (Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar and Chief of the Air Staff ACM Vivek Ram Chaudhari) are NDA alumni.

### Chief of the Army Staff

| No. | Name | Awards | Course number | Notes |
| 1 | Sunith Francis Rodrigues | PVSM, VSM | 1 | 26th Governor of Punjab |
| 2 | Bipin Chandra Joshi | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 5 | |
| 3 | Shankar Roy Chowdhury | PVSM, ADC | 10 | Former Rajya Sabha member |
| 4 | Ved Prakash Malik | PVSM, AVSM | 14 | |
| 5 | Sundararajan Padmanabhan | PVSM, AVSM, VSM | 15 | |
| 6 | Nirmal Chander Vij | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM | 21 | Former National Disaster Management Authority vice-chair; Vivekananda International Foundation director |
| 7 | Joginder Jaswant Singh | PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC | 25 | 14th Governor of Arunachal Pradesh |
| 8 | Deepak Kapoor | PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC | 30 | |
| 9 | Vijay Kumar Singh | PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC | 36 | Union Minister of State for External Affairs; Union Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs; Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation; Former Minister for Development of North Eastern Region; Member of Indian Parliament for Ghaziabad |
| 10 | Bikram Singh | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC, LoM | 40 | |
| 11 | Dalbir Singh | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, LoM | 44 | |
| 12 | Bipin Rawat | PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC | 53 | Former CDS |
| 13 | Manoj Mukund Naravane | PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC | 56 | Former COAS |
| 14 | Manoj Pande | PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC | 61 | Former COAS |

### Chief of the Naval Staff

| No. | Name | Awards | Course number | Notes |
| 1 | Laxmi Narayan Ramdas | PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC | 1 | 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding |
| 2 | Vijai Singh Shekhawat | PVSM, AVSM, VrC, ADC | 7 | Former Vice Chairman of Outward Bound India; Vivekananda International Foundation advisory board member |
| 3 | Vishnu Bhagwat | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 14 | |
| 4 | Sushil Kumar | PVSM, AVSM, UYSM, YSM, NM, VSM, ADC | 16 | |
| 5 | Madhvendra Singh | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 20 | |
| 6 | Arun Prakash | PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC | 26 | |
| 7 | Sureesh Mehta | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 29 | Former High Commissioner to New Zealand |
| 8 | Nirmal Kumar Verma | PVSM, AVSM | 35 | 24th High Commissioner to Canada |
| 9 | Robin Kumar Dhowan | PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC | 45 | |
| 10 | Sunil Lanba | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 51 | |
| 11 | Karambir Singh | PVSM, AVSM, ADC | 56 | former CNS |
| 12 | Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar | PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC | 61 | |
| 13 | Dinesh Kumar Tripathi | PVSM, AVSM, NM | | Incumbent |

### Chief of the Air Staff

| No. | Name | Awards | Course number | Notes |
| 1 | Nirmal Chandra Suri | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 1 | |
| 2 | Swaroop Krishna Kaul | PVSM, MVC, ADC | 5 | Maha Vir Chakra recipient |
| 3 | Satish Kumar Sareen | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 12 | |
| 4 | Anil Yashwant Tipnis | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 15 | |
| 5 | Pradeep Vasant Naik | PVSM, VSM, ADC | 33 | |
| 6 | Norman Anil Kumar Browne | PVSM, VM, ADC | 39 | Ambassador to Norway |
| 7 | Arup Raha | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 44 | |
| 8 | Birender Singh Dhanoa | PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC | 52 | |
| 9 | Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 56 | Former CAS |
| 10 | Vivek Ram Chaudhari | PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC | 61 | Incumbent |

## Wartime award recipients

As of September 2023, 3 Param Vir Chakras, 32 Maha Vir Chakras and 163 Vir Chakras have been awarded to NDA officers.

### Param Vir Chakra

Three officers from NDA have posthumously received the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award. All three were from the Army.
| No. | Name | Course number | Unit | Year |
| 1 | Gurbachan Singh Salaria | 9 | 3/1 Gorkha Rifles | 1961 |
| 2 | Arun Khetarpal | 38 | 17 Poona Horse | 1971 |
| 3 | Manoj Kumar Pandey | 90 | 1/11 Gorkha Rifles | 1999 |

### Maha Vir Chakra

32 NDA officers have received the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second-highest wartime gallantry award: two from the Air Force, one from the Navy and the remainder from the Army. Ten received the award posthumously. Air Force squadron leader Padmanabha Gautam is the only NDA officer to receive the award twice, in 1965 and 1971 (posthumously).
| No. | Name | Course number | Unit | Year |
| 1 | Raj Mohan Vohra | 1 | Armoured Corps | 1971 |
| 2 | Hanut Singh | 1 | Armoured Corps | 1971 |
| 3 | Kulwant Singh Pannu | 1 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 4 | Narinder Singh Sandhu | 2 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 5 | Padmanabha Gautam | 3 | Indian Air Force | 1965, 1971 |
| 6 | Sushil Kumar Mathur | 3 | Artillery | 1965 |
| 7 | Sukhjit Singh | 4 | Armoured Corps | 1971 |
| 8 | Shamsher Singh | 5 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 9 | Raj Kumar Singh | 5 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 10 | H. C. Pathak | 5 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 11 | Swaroop Krishna Kaul | 5 | Indian Air Force | 1971 |
| 12 | Ved Prakash Ghai | 5 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 13 | Surinder Kapoor | 7 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 14 | Ved Prakash Airy | 8 | Infantry | 1972 |
| 15 | Bhaskar Roy | 9 | Armoured Corps | 1965 |
| 16 | Daljit Singh Narang | 9 | Armoured Corps | 1972 |
| 17 | Santosh Kumar Gupta | 10 | Indian Navy | 1971 |
| 18 | Vijay Rattan Choudhry | 13 | Corps of Engineers | 1971 |
| 19 | Vijay Kumar Berry | 14 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 20 | Manjit Singh | 19 | Infantry | 1987 |
| 21 | Bhagwan Dutt Dogra | 20 | Infantry | 1962 |
| 22 | Amarjit Singh Bal | 22 | Armoured Corps | 1971 |
| 23 | Gautam Mubayi | 23 | Infantry | 1965 |
| 24 | Pradip Kumar Gour | 25 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 25 | Basdev Singh Mankotia | 28 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 26 | S. K. Gupta | 30 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 27 | Inder Bal Singh Bawa | 30 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 28 | Devinder Singh Ahlawat | 31 | Infantry | 1971 |
| 29 | Vivek Gupta | 80 | 2 Rajputana | 1999 |
| 30 | Anuj Nayyar | 90 | 17 Jat | 1999 |
| 31 | Gurjinder Singh Suri | 90 | 12 Bihar | 2001 |
| 32 | Bikkumalla Santosh Babu | 105 | 16 Bihar | 2021 |

### Vir Chakra

163 NDA alumni have been awarded the Vir Chakra, India's third-highest wartime award. Of these, 96 are from the Army, 13 from the Navy and 54 from the Air Force. Notable recipients include Admiral Laxmi Narayan Ramdas, Admiral Vijai Singh Shekhawat, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. & Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi.

## Peacetime award recipients

As of September 2023, 12 Ashok Chakras, 45 Kirti Chakras, and 152 Shaurya Chakras, have been awarded to NDA officers.

### Ashoka Chakra

Twelve NDA officers have received the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. Of them, one is from the Air Force and the remainder are from the Army. Eleven officers received the award posthumously. Wing commander Rakesh Sharma of the Air Force is the only living NDA Air Force officer to receive the award.
| No. | Name | Course number | Unit | Notes |
| 1 | Pollur Mutthuswamy Raman | 10 | 3 Sikh Li | CI Ops Naga Hill-03 Jun 1956 |
| 2 | Rakesh Sharma | 35 | Indian Air Force | Only Indian national to go into space; Hero of the Soviet Union |
| 3 | Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair | 38 | 16 Maratha Light Infantry | 1994; Kirti Chakra (1983) |
| 4 | Sudhir Kumar Walia | 72 | 9 Para (SF) | 2000; Sena Medal recipient |
| 5 | Arjun Singh Jasrotia | 73 | 9 Para (SF) | 1996; Sena Medal recipient |
| 6 | Rajiv Kumar Joon | 78 | 22 Grenadiers | 1995; Shaurya Chakra recipient |
| 7 | Rakesh Singh | 79 | 22 Grenadiers | 1993 |
| 8 | Puneet Nath Datt | 87 | 1/11 Gorkha Rifles | 1997 |
| 9 | Mohit Sharma | 95 | 1 Para (SF) | 2010; Sena Medal recipient |
| 10 | Dinesh Raghu Raman | 95 | Rashtriya Rifles | 2008; COAS commendation |
| 11 | Sandeep Unnikrishnan | 94 | 7 Bihar 51 SAG (NSG) | 2009, Operation Black Tornado |
| 12 | Radhakrishnan Nair Harshan | 101 | 2 Para (SF) | 2007 |

### Kirti Chakra

Forty five NDA alumni have received the Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award. Notable recipients include Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair, who is also an Ashok Chakra recipient Lieutenant colonel Nectar Sanjenbam who is also a Shaurya Chakra recipient. Archived 12 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine

### Shaurya Chakra

A total of 152 NDA alumni have received the Shaurya Chakra, India's third-highest peacetime gallantry award. Notable recipients include Major Rajiv Kumar Joon, who is also an Ashok Chakra recipient.

## Others

| No. | Name | Military awards | Course number | Notes |
| 1 | Arogyaswami Paulraj | AVSM, VSM | 25 | Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, USA; 2010 Padma Bhushan recipient; 2011 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal; 2014 Marconi Prize; 2018 United States Patent and Trademark Office, National Inventors Hall of Fame; 2023 IET Faraday Medal; Project lead for APSOH sonar developed for the Indian Navy 1977–83, APSOH was the most advanced sonar system in the world in its class. Later in the US, developed MIMO wireless, the core technology behind 4G/5G mobile and WiFi networks. MIMO triggered massive R&D investments worldwide and is now used universally |
| 2 | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | AVSM | 77 | Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting; Member of Parliament from Jaipur, Rajasthan; Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award recipient; Padma Shri recipient; Arjuna Award recipient; Silver medal in men's double trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics; 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the Commonwealth Games; 1 silver and 1 bronze medal in the Asian Games |
| 3 | Ian Cardozo | AVSM, SM | 12 | First NDA cadet to receive both gold and silver medals; First war-disabled officer of the Indian Army to command a battalion and a brigade |