Wg Cdr Amitava Chaudhuri was commissioned on 04 Jan 71. Presently he is appointed as Technical Planning Officer at HQ Maintenance Command.

He has made very effective contribution in the field of indigenisation of computers. Taking into account his expertise in the field of armament, the officer was given two special armament projects, viz. modification of MRSIV rocket pods for Iskara Aircraft and development of colour smoke emission pods for Kiran MK-II Aircraft. Wg Cdr Chaudhuri personally designed the various sub-systems and prepared 55 engineering drawings. Both these projects are in advanced stage of completion.

During his current tenure at HQ Maintenance Command, he has put in long hours of sustained hard work unmindful of personal comforts. His professionalism, dedication to duty and sincerity of purpose are exemplary and worth emulation.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr A Chaudhuri.

He was specially selected to command one of the most recent and potent acquisition OSAAKM Surface to Air Guided Weapon (SAGW) squadron. The Unit had only 80 ab-initio technicians, seven vehicles and no admin staff to undertake operational tasks at Jaisalmer, Uttarlai, Kandla and two other locations on the Kutch Border. Against these odds, Wg Cdr Bajaj took upon the self-defined challenge of setting up a competent, cohesive and disciplined unit. Under his dynamic leadership, the squadron participated in four major exercises and operated from different locations successfully. It also took part in six Electronic Warfare (EW) workshops and live firings.

Wg Cdr Bajaj raised the unit on the lines of the already proven system of a fighter squadron and formulated orders and instructions, conducted briefings, debriefings and lectures for combat teams. He introduced an Authorisation Book System for the various activities of his men and monitored progress on flow charts.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr HK Bajaj.

Wg Cdr Keshava Murthy Ramasundara was commissioned in IAF on 05 Jul 71 in the Engineering (Electronics) branch of Air Force.

During past 4 years, Wg Cdr Ramasundara provided exceptional services to improve the serviceability of MiG-29 fleet. Despite acute resource crunch and collapse in Russian supply system, he persuaded Russian autho rities at all levels and managed to extract maximum support which enabled IAF to maintain MiG-29 fleet's operational preparedn ess. In doing so, he exerted sustained pressure on Russian agencies which resulted in supply of long pending contractual deficiencies amounting to nearly Rs. 2 crores.

With his very thorough professional knowledge on MiG-29 ac, on a number of occasions he advised units to correct their procedural lapses and also assisted them in carrying out the detailed analysis of serious technological problems on aircraft and evolved remedial measures.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr KM Ramasundara.

Wg Cdr Vijay Kumar Dayalu was commissioned in the Administration Branch on 17 Jun 1972. On 11 May 1992, he was appointed the Camp Commandant at Air Headquarters.

One of the most important functions of the Camp Commandant is to maintain the decor and dignity befitting the Service Headquarters. In this context, the complete renovation and modernisation of the Air Headquarters foyer, Operation Briefing room, CAS Conference Hall Complex and the VIP Entrance were completed within extremely compact time schedule. During the Diamond Jubilee Cele brations, these improvements were apprec iated by all the dignitaries who visited the Vayu Bhavan.

Wg Cdr Dayalu introduced a number of innovations and maintained a follow up with a view to achieve optimum utilisation of scarce resources. The creation of a special storage area at the Safdarjung Airport and streamlining of procedure for office equipment are some such examples. Working well beyond the call of his duty, enthusiasm and cheerfulness are his natural attributes.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr VK Dayalu.

Wg Cdr D Kapur was commissioned on 03 Jul 72 as an Engineering (Electronics) Officer. Presently, he is appointed as Senior Electrical Officer at a fighter wing.

Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) is the only pilot interpreted navigation aid available for Hunter aircraft. Its corresponding ground equipment Eureka has been unserviceable for last three years and could not be repaired even by the Specialist repair parties. Wg Cdr Kapur pin-pointed the faulty components and repaired them.

Wg Cdr Kapur has engineered a modification to suit the AF requirements. Dornier aircraft requires 28 volts for starting whereas normal starting trolley provides either 24 volts or 30 volts. Wg Cdr Kapur modified 30 volts trolley to give 28 volts by building additional terminals for Dornier aircraft starting. This is likely to be accepted as standard modification all over IAF.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to WG Cdr D Kapur.

Wg Cdr Rajender Khurana was commissioned in the IAF on 02 Jun 73. He is commanding a prestigious Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron since 27 Apr 92.

In 1988, he was awarded Vayu Sena Medal for successfully leading a task force on reconnaissance missions across the border.

During the last one year, he made numerous innovations in the field of aerial photography and introduced new method for conducting survey close to border areas. He achieved record aerial survey coverage of 5.03 lakh sq km during the last one year earning the IAF a revenue of more than seven crores. Besides the financial savings the innovations would greatly help in enhancing the operational preparedness of our Armed Forces.

Wg Cdr R Khurana conceived and undertook project studies on development of medium range oblique-photography capability with the available vertical camera systems, on Avro and Canberra aircraft and low level high speed photography capability on Canberra aircraft with the available medium/high altitude camera systems. This will be of immense value in hostile air defence environment.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr R Khurana.

Wg Cdr R Malhotra was commissioned on 09 Feb 74 in the fighter stream of Air Force. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and an Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner. He has more than 3400 hours of accident-free flying to his credit. In Aug 90, he was posted to MiG Operational Flying Training Unit (MOFTU) and has been the Flight Commander since Jul 92.

MOFTU is a premier training institution of the IAF for the fighter stream. Wg Cdr Malhotra had been instrumental in setting high professional standards both in flying and ground training. Bad weather and limited experience of the fledgling fighter pilots were his major constraints. Through his single minded dedication and tireless hard work, he ensured that MOF training was completed on due date without compromising the quality of training, a singular and unique achievement by itself. His result oriented approach and personal involvement have greatly enhanced the operational capability of the unit.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr R Malhotra.

Sqn Ldr Sudhakar Chandrakant Kunte was commissioned on 05 Jan 76. He is on the posted strength of ASTE since 01 Feb 89.

With commendable technical skill, devotion to work and exemplary perseverance, he developed a computerised data acquisition system based on indigenously available PCs and Video Cassette Recorders. His highly advanced technique won praise not only from our R&D organisations, but also from the US Air Force Test Pilot School team that visited the Establishment.

Sqn Ldr Kunte devised a scheme to record the flight test data directly on PC thus reducing flight test time as well as data retrieval time. He further enhanced the scheme by utilising two PCs to simultaneously record the data as well as to give onboard real time display for test manoeuvre monitoring in the aircraft. These schemes were very successfully implemented during the 'AEW-TDP' and 'AN-32 Re-engineing' trials.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr SC Kunte.

Sqn Ldr Ramaswamy Vijay Kumar was commissioned in the accounts Branch of the Indian Air Force in Jun 76. He has been working as Officer-in-Charge Air Force Sports Complex and Honorary Secretary Air Force Golf Club at New Delhi since Mar 92.

During this tenure, with his hard work, foresight and meticulous planning, he brought tremendous improvement in playing conditions at the complex which have been highly appreciated by everyone using the facility. Besides he brought about 41% increase in general fund position during a short period which is a testimony of his capability as finance manager.

During his service career, he has held many appointments with distinction. As incharge of Equipment Accounting Service at No. 24 Equipment Depot, AF his experience in accounting systems came into full play resulting in efficient inventory management without drawing any audit objection.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn. Ldr Ramaswamy Vijay Kumar.

Sqn Ldr Sitaram Subramanian was commissioned on 29 Dec 76 in the Administration branch of the IAF. He has been on the posted strength of Headquarters South Western Air Command, IAF since 01 Apr 92 and working as Staff Officer to the Air Officer Commandingin-Chief.

During his tenure as Station Adjutant of a premier fighter base, he overhauled and completely streamlined personnel administration management policies and activities of the Station. He was later asked to take over the duties of O i/c works which gave the works services of the base the much needed fillip. A thorough professional, he contributed significantly towards the Wing being adjudged the 'Best in Administration' in South Western Air Command, IAF for three consecutive years between 1987 and 1989. As a counter Intelligence Officer and later as Liaison Officer in a Liaison Unit (LU) his deep involvement and constant monitoring was instrumental in gearing up the general state of security and counter intelligence in all units under his jurisdiction.

For distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr Sitaram Subramanian.

Sqn Ldr Ashish Kumar Saxena was commis sioned on 25 Jul 77 in the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) branch of the IAF. He has been on the posted strength of a combat Squadron since 29 Apr 91 and has performed the duties of Senior Technical Officer (STO).

As STO, Sqn Ldr Saxena managed the servicing of two ageing fleets, i.e. Canberra and MiG-21 aircraft. It was largely due to his innovative approach that he could modify and made serviceable EW pod of MiG-21 which is essentially repairable at factory, thus saving approximately Rupees Thirty Lakhs to IAF. He also modified and made a preamplifier of the EW equipment serviceable which was no longer in production and no substitute was available in market. This modification was approved by Air HQrs and resulted in saving of approximately Rupees Seven Lakhs. Sqn Ldr Saxena fabricated a directional coupler which was urgently required for an operational exercise by combining some items from other equipments, thus making the pod serviceable in time.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr AK Saxena.

Sqn Ldr MK Srivastava was commissioned on 25 Jul 77 in the Engineering (Electronics) branch of Air Force and has been posted to a Wing as Commanding Officer of a Missile Maintenance and Provisioning Unit since Oct 91.

Sqn Ldr Srivastava was entrusted with the onerous task of setting up the Interim Missile Testing Facility at the Wing, pending the completion of permanent work services. This entire infrastructure was required to be completed within the warranty period. Sqn Ldr Srivastava not only met the dead line, but helped in detecting unserviceabilities in some missiles, which resulted in the manufacturers accepting a warranty claim of $40,000. In addition, setting up of the Interim Missile Test Facility required some test equipment which was indigenously designed and fabricated by the officer. This resulted in saving of foreign exchange to the tune of $70,000.

Sqn Ldr Srivastava formulated the syllabus and conducted training for officers and airmen thus creating a pool of backup personnel.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr MK Srivastava.

Sqn Ldr BK Sood was commissioned on 05 Jan 81 in the Engineering (Electronics) branch of Air Force and has been posted to MiG-29 Technical Flight.

Besides maintaining high aircraft serviceability and contributing effectively towards Flight and Maintenance Safety, he has a large number of innovations and modifica tions to his credit. Fire control radar of MiG-29 ac required a test bench (UDS) for testing and rectification. For these facilities, the unit had to depend upon Wing or the BRD for the maintenance of radars. Sqn Ldr Sood, with his dedicated team was able to fabricate a test bench to do the job of UDS. This resulted in saving of foreign exchange amounting to approximately one crore rupees.

Sqn Ldr Sood has attained an exceptional skill on the computers. Due to his efforts, the Wing is justifiably proud of having achieved computerisation of all the snags of the three types of ac on the Station.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr BK Sood.

Sqn Ldr MK Thakur was commissioned on 11 June 81 in the Administrative branch of Air Force.

Sqn Ldr Thakur's quality of work, tenacity and will to achieve under conditions of stress are his confirmed forte in the units that he has served. This was most evident during his tenure as Station Adjutant of Air Force Station, Leh where under difficult conditions of extreme climate, he worked tirelessly and often beyond the normal working hours to cater to the needs of the Station and its three distantly located detachments.

In the year 1992, IG was entrusted with the responsibility of the Chairman 1AF Diamond Jubilee (DJ) celebrations. Sqn Ldr Thakur as Staff Officer volunteered for the task of starting the DJ celebrations even when no guidelines or previous information was available on the subject. His performance in coordinating the activities of 15 committees was excellent.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr MK Thakur.

MWO Nityananda Bose MTD joined the Air Force on 09 Sep 61 and is on the posted strength of a Squadron since 02 Oct 88. He has been functioning as the Mechanical Transport Officer (MTO).

MWO NN Bose is an outstanding and a competent tradesman whose performance through out his career merits recognition. During his training, he was adjudged best in trade and awarded Best All-rounder Trophy. He stood first in the Staff Driving Course and the specialist Vehicle Operator's course.

At the Wing, he brought about a radical change in MT serviceability state with a corresponding reduction in accidents. The serviceability of MT Vehicles in 1992 and 1993 has been over 92% average.

During Feb 93, one crashed MiG-23 was required to be salvaged from the crash site which was on the approach of runway. MWO Bose at his own initiative obtained PSP Sheets to lay a path, used two KRAZ vehicles judiciously and retrieved the aircraft. He is a manager on whom one can rely in all contingencies.

For distinguished service of high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to MWO Nityananda Bose.