Flight Lieutenant Puran Chandra Singh Rautela volunteered for a very sensitive appointment in the midst of 1971 conflict. Through his drive and perseverance he was able to collect and produce some very vital intelligence about the enemy.

Awarded Vishisht Seva Medal for courage and extreme devotion to duty.

An aircraft was lost in October, 1967 in Kulkila Glacier area of Lahul-Spiti at the height of 15,000 and 18,000 feet. In October, 1978, Squadron Leader Puran Chandra Singh Rautela, VSM, volunteered to undertake the expedition to locate the wreckage and the body of the pilot. Despite adverse weather conditions, he undertook the journey as snow would have obliterated the traces of wreckage. On the way he saved the life of a Japanese tourist suffering from acute pulmonary edema at a height of 13,000 feet by offering him the limited oxygen available to the team. Though deserted by the majority of porters, he continued to lead the expedition under dangerous weather conditions with temperature at -30°C and wind speed of 50 knots. During the course of operation, on one occasion, he was buried to the neck-deep in loose snow. Inspite of this, he inspired confidence in the members of his team through personal example and carried on the expedition and ultimately discovered the wreckage of the aircraft lost nearly 11 years ago and carried the wreckage back to the base.

In this action, Squadron Leader Puran Chandra Singh Rautela displayed exemplary courage, determination and devotion to duty of a high order.

Air Vice Marshal Puran Chandra Singh Rautela SC VSM (9576) AE (L) was commis sioned in the IAF on 04 Oct 1965. During his illustrious career, he has held various imp ortant and challenging appointments. His technical expertise, augmented by desire to innovate and design, has yielded various benefits to the IAF. He developed the first AS-200 version carrier, which was put to extensive use in the IAF. He was the member of DARIN design team for Indian Jaguar. During his tenure in RCPO from 1988-1992, he had conceptualized and developed RAME (Guwahati) and RAME (Wadsar), which are fully functional now. He designed the airborne caliberational system MATCAL which is fully functional now and has significantly contributed to the serviceability of Testers for various weapons systems.

Since his posting as ACAS Sigs (Air) in Jan 98, he has shown remarkable ability in conceptualizing and Implementing various schemes. He has designed the IAF high-speed communication network between Air HQ and Command HQ with direct dialing facility, using compression and frame relay techniques. He has brought about radical changes in the procurement policy of telephone exchanges, which has amounted to savings to the tune of Rs. 2 crores in the last two years. He also designed and developed ATC 3D system, which will give a substantive boost to flight safety and safer operation at ATC. During the Kargil war, the Air Officer ensured that effective communication was provided at all levels. He developed a technique to use bulk encryptors on analogue tropo links, which is now under implantation. Air Cmde PCS Rautela by sheer dint of hard work, coupled with ingenuity, has not only given concrete shape to innovative concepts but has also set benchmarks for his subordinates to follow.

Air Vice Marshal Puran Chandra Singh Rautela SC VSM has, thus, rendered distinguished service of an exceptional order.