Wing Commander Sudhanshu Kumar Adaval joined the Armed Forces in 1962, after having obtained MD in Pathology & Bacteriology and having worked as a teacher in Pathology for 3 years at MGM Medical College, Indore. He was one of the first few postgraduates in Pathology in the Armed Forces in 1962. Soon after commissioning, he was graded as a Pathologist and was given the task of starting a Pathology Laboratory for the Air Force.

In 1968, while posted at AF Hospital, Secunderabad, Wg Cdr SK Adaval coordinated single-handed the handing over of the Military Hospital, Bangalore to the Air Force. He was appointed Classified Specialist in Pathology as well as Post Intermediate Teacher of the Pune University.

While posted to Air Force Hospital Kanpur, during 1974-76, he trained Medical Assistants for participation in the InterCommand Technical Training Competitions. While posted at the Institute of Aviation Pathology and as a Member of the Faculty of Medicine, he carried out several AFMRC research projects in addition to devoting himself to work in his own field.

In 1981, Wg Cdr SK Adaval was specially selected, from South East Asia, for a World Health Organisation Fellowship in Laboratory Quality Control Studies and was trained in some of the prestigious institutions of the world. In 1982 Wg Cdr SK Adaval was associated with the medical fitness criteria of the Indian Cosmonauts for the Project Pawan and was the chief coordinator for medical fitness of a large number of candidates.

For his exceptional academic attainments, outstanding performance in the field of Aviation Pathology and commendable contribution to the Project Pawan, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Sudhanshu Kumar Adaval.

Wing Commander Dinesh Chandra Dhyani has been on the posted strength of a major Air Force Station since Mar 83. He was commissioned in the Administration Branch in 1962 and later successfully completed an ad-hoc ATC Course.

In 1966, he was posted as Senior Air Traffic Controller at the Pilot Training Establishment, Allahabad. When this unit was moved to Bidar, Wg Cdr Dhyani led the advance party and undertook the task of setting up the Air Traffic Services at Bidar. This task was completed successfully and pilot training commenced on time. Between 1967-1971, while on deputation to HAL, Nasik Division, he was responsible, as SATCO, to set up not only the complete Air Traffic Control Services, but also ATC procedures for the surveillance Radar ensuring safe flying environments.

During the 1971 Indo-Pak operations, while he was SATCO at an Air Force Station in the Eastern Sector, he executed the task of re-organising the air traffic set-up from an alternate location in record time. Later in 1972, he was also appointed Command ATC Examiner. As SATCO of an Operational Command, he actively involved himself in the planning of various air exercises, Republic Day Fly Past and Fire-power Demonstration. All these required close coordination between ATC services of the Air Force and the DGCA. In every case, the planning and execution was done harmoniously and no untoward incident occurred.

Throughout his service career, Wg Cdr Dhyani has carried out with zeal, dedication and diligence not only his primary tasks, but also any other task entrusted to him.

For his outstanding professional skill, leadership and distinguished service of a very high order, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Dinesh Chandra Dhyani.

Wing Commander Kukkehalli Prabakar Hegde was commissioned into the Air Force on 27 Feb 63. In the initial part of his career he successfully completed Paratroopers, Snow Survival and ATMO Courses and served as a Medical Officer in various Air Force units with distinction. He was selected for specialist training in Medicine in Jul 67. He completed the same successfully in Jul 69 and having stood first in the course was selected for appointment as Tutor in the Armed Forces Medical College. He obtained MD (Med) in 1974 from the Pune University.

He has been serving as a Medical Specialist since Jul 69. Having served with credit as a specialist at three Air Force Hospitals and the Air Force Central Medical Establishment, he was appointed Staff Surgeon to the Chief of the Air Staff in Nov 81.

He is a very dedicated specialist who carries out his professional duties with missionary zeal and total disregard for personal comfort or convenience. His professional competence combined with humility has earned him the admiration of one and all. He has set the highest standards of professionalism and doctor-patient relationship which are worthy of emulation by others. His cool composure under crisis is commendable.

In recognition of his outstanding services and devotion to duty of a high order, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Wg Cdr Kukkehalli Prabakar Hegde.

Wing Commander Bawa Guru Pratap Singh Bhalla was commissioned into the Flying Branch in Jun 63. He was first in order of merit in his course and was awarded the Sword of Honour. He has flown 5150 hours, mainly on trainer and heavy transport aircraft, of which 1170 hours were for instructional flying on the AN-12 aircraft. He was thrice commended for outstanding performance in the air.

Since 1979, when due to a defect in his vision, he was transferred to the Administrative Branch, he has served as SO to DCAS, Air Headquarters, SO to AOC-in-C, EAC and as the Coord Officer, HQ Western Air Command. He has worked most diligently and for very long hours. He has ensured excellent coordination in staff activities, and displayed admirable tact and courtesy in dealing with other defence services, para-military organisations and civil authority.

For his distinguished service of a very high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Bawa Guru Pratap Singh Bhalla.

Wing Commander Harbans Perminder Singh assumed the command of a missile squadron on 19 April 82. He has flown over 4700 hrs on transport and bomber aircraft. For his active participation during the 1971 IndoPak conflict, he was awarded Vir Chakra.

Immediately, on taking over the command of the unit, he set about the task of reorienting the squadron with the clear aim of making it operationally viable. The terrain of operation, being uneven and sandy, movement of heavy trailers and vehicles was difficult. He realised the compelling necessity of operating the combat flights from their operational sites. To achieve this task, he carried out detailed reconnaissance and, exercising initiative and resourcefulness, carried out a large number of mobility exercises. The new methods and innovations devised by him to improve operational mobility were highly appreciated.

Under his dynamic leadership and professional guidance, the squadron acquitted itself very creditably during all inspections and exercises. The operational status of the unit, viz. the functioning of the squadron, its training, upkeep of equipment, specialist and common user vehicles, is commendable. His squadron performed exceedingly well in the Air Defence Exercises and proved its combat worthiness.

The officer is highly service-oriented, selfmotivated and totally dedicated to the cause of the Air Force. He stands out as a dynamic commander with an enthusiastic approach to all intricate problems and is always willing to shoulder any responsibility, however onerous it may be.

For his selfless devotion to duty, resourcefulness in tackling operational problems, diligence and dedicated application to all service matters, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Harbans Perminder Singh.

Wing Commander Kumbhapati Venugopala Krishna Sastry was commissioned in the IAF in Jun 63. He is a qualified Fighter Controller with the highest category rating. Having served in various operational Radar Signals units, he has attained very high proficiency in his profession.

For his Air Defence background and professional excellence, he was specially selected and posted to the Programming and Simulation Centre, Bombay, on its inception in 1974, to work with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research for the development of the Automatic Data Handling System. TIFR is the agency responsible for development of the ADHS project and was handicapped due to lack of adequate software experts with the requisite Air Defence background and skill. Wg Cdr Sastry took up this challenge and, on his own, acquired the intricate knowledge of real time software by studying the limited technical literature available in the world on the subject. With this newly acquired knowledge and the Air Defence background, he made a significant contribution to the development of the operational software package for the Automatic Data Handling System. The radar tracking software, the heart of the ADHS software, developed personally by Wg Cdr Sastry, is comparable to such software available anywhere in the world.

On his promotion to the rank of Wg Cdr in 1981 the officer was assigned the command of the Programming and Simulation Centre. By dint of his professional expertise, personal example of intelligence and dedicated hard work, at the expense of personal comforts, Wg Cdr Sastry built up a very efficient software team.

For his initiative, dedication, unique achievement and pioneering efforts in the field of the Automatic Data Handling System, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Kumbhapati Venugopala Krishna Sastry.

Wing Commander Satyamurti Sridhar was commissioned in the Air Force on 08 Oct 63. An engineering officer of proven capability, he has held important field and staff appointments as Chief Engineering Officer of a front-line base, Chief Ground Instructor of the Test Pilot School, Officer Incharge Overhaul of rotables at a Base Repair Depot, and Engineering Officer at a helicopter unit. Presently, he is Chief Engineering Officer of a base in the Eastern Sector.

During his tenure as C Eng O at an operational base, he maintained a very high serviceability of aircraft and constantly guided his officers and men in achieving this feat. He was responsible for recovery of two Chetak aircraft, from a height of 16,600 feet in the Eastern Sector. It was a laudable achievement. While carrying out this task, he worked with remarkable professional zeal and fabricated a sling which proved invaluable in the recovery of the helicopters.

In order to achieve the objective of producing and maintaining safe and reliable aircraft, Wg Cdr S Sridhar has inspired the technical personnel under him to follow correct maintenance practices. He has toiled ceaselessly and with determination to produce aircraft and maintain a very high serviceability state of aircraft with an accident-free record.

For his exceptional ability, devotion to duty and professional acumen of a high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Satyamurti Sridhar.

Wing Commander Dinesh Chander Nigam was commissioned into the Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) Branch in Oct 63. During his service career, he distinguished himself in such challenging assignments as management of guided weapon firing ranges and introduction of the GW equipment and its subsequent modification. He was Officer-in-Charge of Project ELINT and Tail Warning Systems which played a vital role in operations.

As Officer-in-Charge, he was responsible for technical evaluation, planning and execution of avionics projects of varied nature. In carrying out this task, he demonstrated technical acumen of a high order.

During his tenure as Officer-in-Change Avionics Modification Team, he was entrusted with the task of installation of Doppler Radar on the Canberra aircraft, Weather Radar on the Mi-8 helicopter and Omega Navigation System on the Avro, the Mi-8, the AN-12 and the Canberra TT aircraft as also trial installation of important secondary Radar on various MiG variants. When called upon to install and commission three sets of Weather Radars on the Mi-8 helicopters, earmarked for the third Antarctic Expedition, the officer undertook the task with zeal and determination and completed it within a short period of ten days, a commendable achievement by any standard. His technique of planning, procurement of installation material and fabrication of the required bracketry helped immensely in speedy completion of the installation task.

For his exemplary devotion to duty, able leadership, resourcefulness and diligence beyond the call of duty, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Dinesh Chander Nigam.

Wing Commander Manickam Chandrasekaran took over command of a Missile Squadron, in Dec 82, immediately after completion of the Pechora Guided Weapons Course.

In an incredibly short time, he became fully conversant with the complicated and varied systems and subsystems that constitute a Pechora Squadron, Simultaneously, he stepped up the training vigorously and exceeded the laid down targets. This had a salutary effect on the operational preparedness of the squadron, as was evident from its excellent performance in many air defence exercises.

The combat worthiness and operational state of the squadron were instrumental in its being selected as the best GW Squadron in the Command. The squadron was also nominated to represent the Command for the Guided Weapons Rolling Trophy and to man the GW Live Firing Range as the Duty Range Squadron.

He devoted special attention to maintaining a high serviceability state of the combat equipment and technical flight. The exemplary maintenance and condition of the specialist vehicles of his Squadron was appreciated by the Command and Air Headquarters.

The squadron moved one of its combat flights for medium repairs in Aug 83. The planning, organisation and execution of the move was appreciated by Air HQs. Wing Commander Chandrasekaran has made out a model SOP, which will be used by all squadrons for mobility operations.

For his hard work, dedication professionalism and leadership in the best traditions of the IAF, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Manickam Chandrasekaran.

Wing Commander Ayinapudi Vijay Pal was commissioned in Dec 64. During his service career, the officer has held important field and instructional appointments. For his exceptional work in training foreign students, he was commended by the Chief of Air Staff.

Since Mar 81, Wg Cdr Pal has been posted to a major Signal Unit. During his stay at this unit, this officer has displayed a very high sense of responsibility, trustworthiness and unwavering devotion to duty. He has always shouldered responsibilities with cheerfulness and resourcefulness.

His dedication and diligence have led to the unit winning the Best in Operation Trophy for three years in succession. With meticulous planning bolstered by his excellent organising ability, he set up a new THD Ops Room in record time. Also to his credit is the recovery of several friendly fighter aircraft and training of 82 outstation controllers. He has, in addition, made a significant contribution to improving the operational status of many Air Defence units.

For his diligence, outstanding professional competence, knowledge and distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ayinapudi Vijay Pal.

Wing Commander Jagdish Singh Dalal was commissioned in December 1964. During his service career, he has distinguished himself in various challenging assignments at Wings and Equipment Depots.

During 1970-71, he excelled himself in the field of indigenous substitution of technical spares, which resulted in substantial saving of foreign exchange, for which he was commended by the Chief of the Air Staff. Later, as Officer Commanding of an Equipment Depot, he took over aircraft equipment of the MiG-25 aircraft in record time which contributed substantially to the operational efficiency of the Air Force.

Wing Commander JS Dalal was posted to Air Headquarters on 04 July 83 and was entrusted with the responsibilities of finalisation of Courts of Inquiry, audit object ions and loss statements on stores losses, in addition to Annual Audit Certificates and Appropriation Accounts and Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. A sizeable number of them pertained to occurrences which were between three and twenty three years old and were causing grave concern at the highest level at Air Headquarters and Ministry of Defence. Undeterred by the heavy arrears and undaunted by the regular inflow of fresh cases, he formulated a crash plan and with his varied experience, missionary zeal and an analytical mind, he evaluated the circumstances under which those occurrences had taken place and made fresh comprehensive statements. His untiring efforts resulted in regularisation of a large number of outstanding cases, within the powers of the CAS.

For his outstanding devotion to duty, exceptional initiative, high professional knowledge, a keen sense of perception, sound pragmatic approach and untiring efforts extending beyond normal working hours, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Jagdish Singh Dalal.

Wing Commander Ramesh Chander Gosain was commissioned into the Air Force in May 1965. A fighter pilot of proven merit, he was awarded Vir Chakra for his gallant acts during the Indo-PakWar of 1971. He is a Fighter Combat Leader, and QFI with A2 Category. As Flight Commander in a frontline fighter squadron, he distinguished himself creditably leaving his mark of ingenuity, resourcefulness, professional competence and administrative skill of a very high order. All his qualities when coupled with his capacity to work hard under stress, acquired entirely new dimensions.

Since 10 May 1982, Wg Cdr RC Gosain has been holding the appointment of DDPO-I at Air Headquarters. His responsibilities entail posting of all officers upto the rank of Wg Cdr, acting promotions upto the rank of Sqn. Ldr., courses for all officers, temporary duty and attachment to and from Air Headquarters and Inter-Command attachment/ temporary duties, study leave, furlough and leave pending retirement, encashment of leave and regularisation of excess leave.

His tenure as DDPO-I has had to be a constant battle with increasing shortages of officers in all branches compounded by new inductions and new raisings, all to be manned effectively from existing resources. By sheer ingenuity, hard work, single-minded application and constant devotion to duty at great personal sacrifice, he has been mainly responsible for ensuring the viable manning state of all Air Force units in the rank structure of Wing Commanders and below, balanced manning at this rank level being most essential for the optimum achievement of the role/task, by the units.

For his diligence, sincerity, devotion to duty, integrity of the highest order and output beyond the call of duty, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ramesh Chander Gosain.

Wing Commander Shiv Lal Chopra was commissioned in the Administrative Branch of the Indian Air Force on 25 Jun 65. During his 19 years of service, the officer has held several important field and staff assignments at major Stations and Wings and at Air Headquarters, besides having commanded two independent units. His performance all through has been imbued with sincerity of purpose, professional acumen and exceptional devotion to duty.

As the Station Adjutant of an Air Force Station, the officer displayed outstanding organising ability and exceptional devotion to duty. He displayed similar acumen in security and investigative operations, while performing such duties at Calcutta, at a time when the law and order in that region was a matter of concern to all.

In his present appointment, as Staff Officer to Air Officer-in-Charge Administration, Wg Cdr Chopra has continued to display his infinite capacity for hard work, cheerful disposition and a high sense of responsibility. Air Officer-in-Charge Administration is responsible for smooth functioning of works services, organisation, legal aspects and provost matters of the whole of the Air Force. The matters pertaining to the Accounts, NonPublic Funds, Group insurance Scheme and the Air Force Naval joint venture of Air Force Naval Housing Board need specialist and at the same time tactful handling. Through his varied experience, professionalism, maturity and genial inter-personal relations, he has brought about an exceptional degree of improvement in the staff work, and rendered valuable staff advice and assistance to AOA.

For his professional competence of a high order and selfless devotion to duty throughout his service career, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Shiv Lal Chopra.

Squadron Leader Thakadiyil Joseph Mathai was commissioned in December 1968 and has been on the posted strength of HQ Western Air Command as Sports Secretary since Mar 80. During his stewardship as the Sports Secretary, WAC sports teams made outstanding improvement. From the fourth position in 1979-80, the WAC teams improved their performance to win the Overall Championship Trophy in the year 1981-82, 1982-83 and 1983-84, i.e. for three years in succession. Ten Air Force Swimming records and seven Weight Lifting records were created by WAC sportsmen and three new Air Force weight lifting champions emerged during this period.

During the last sports season, of the eighteen sports events, WAC teams won eight events, including Aquatics and Volleyball Championships, after a lapse of twelve and eight years respectively. Sqn Ldr Mathai has trained and inducted a number of novices in the field of Weight lifting, Body Building, Wrestling, Volleyball, Football, Boxing and Aquatics and has brought them up to the Air Force standards.

Sqn Ldr TJ Mathai is in his own right one of the most outstanding sportsmen of the Air Force. He is the first body builder from the Air Force and the Services, who had the distinction of winning the coveted "Bharat Shri" title in 1962. Thereafter, he continuously won it five times and maintained exceptional standards of body building for over nine years. He has also won "Mr. Services" title seven times.

He successfully coached and captained the Air Force and the Services Body Building teams from 1961 to 1975 and from 1980 to 1983.

For his outstanding performance as a body builder and dedication to the cause of sports in the Air Force, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Thakadiyil Joseph Mathai.

Sqn Ldr Manmohan Kumar Rana was commissioned into the IAF in July, 1967. He has held several important and challenging assignments during the last 17 years of his service.

For his outstanding performance in the ab-initio course at the Air Force Technical College, he was awarded the Chief of the Air Staff Medal. Subsequently, for his brilliant achievement in the Guided Weapons Course, he was awarded the President's Plaque.

In 1975, he was selected to be a member of the pioneering team for computerisation of Air HQ Information System. Single-handed, he conceived, designed, developed, programmed and implemented Aircraft & Aeroengine Status Reporting System "AIRSTAR", in the shortest possible time. For his invaluable contribution, he was awarded a commendation by the Chief of the Air Staff.

In 1981, Sqn Ldr MK Rana was posted to a Base Repair Depot, as Project Leader of the computer team. Immediately on arrival, he analysed the complex matrix of overhauling the AN-12, Mi-8, AI-20 and TV-2 systems. He then designed five technical systems and five separate logistics systems in an incredibly short period of two years. When the ICIME 29 computer was received at the BRD, it was installed and put on stream within a week. In spite of power failures, low voltage and airconditioning problems, Sqn Ldr Rana worked long hours to achieve the targets on time and ensure high qualitative outputs.

For his excellence in the field of computerisation, analytical abilities, devotion to duty and achievement of high quality outputs for the technical and logistics systems, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Sqn Ldr Manmohan Kumar Rana.

Squadron Leader Arvind Kumar Nagalia is a test pilot and a qualified test flying instructor. He has almost 2000 hours of accident-free fighter flying to his credit. He has also attended the RAF Advanced Staff Course in the United Kingdom. Sqn. Ldr AK Nagalia worked in the Directorate of Air Staff Requirements as Asst Director from Dec 81 to Apr 84. During his tenure, he was associated with a number of important aircraft and weapon systems schemes initiated by the Air Force. These included the Mirage 2000, MiG-27M aircraft acquisition and formation of air targets for the Advanced Jet Trainer and Basic Turboprop Trainer projects. Sqn Ldr AK Nagalia has a profound knowledge of the operational and training requirements of the Air Force. He applied himself most meticulously in carrying out detailed analysis of the aircraft and weapon systems available so that correct decisions could be taken with regard to their acquisition. The staff papers produced by him were of a very high standard and bore the stamp of his experience as a test pilot and as a Qualified Flying Instructor.

For his outstanding contribution to the aircraft and weapon systems schemes, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Arvind Kumar Nagalia.

Squadron Leader Kiranchandra Indravadan Trivedi was commissioned into the IAF in Dec 68 and has been on the posted strength of the Northern Area Control Centre, since 04 Jan 82. As Senior Meteorological Officer, he is looking after meteorological aspects and services being rendered by NACC & AOC (J&K) to all the units, Dropping Zones and Advanced Landing Grounds in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, having been associated with the Global Monex Experiment in 1979, the officer was specially selected in 1983 to join the Third Antarctica Expedition as a member and was assigned the task of providing weather services to aid helicopter operations by the Air Force crew in Antarctica. During the preparatory period, the officer reviewed the available meteorological literature on Antarctica, prepared a weather summary and carried out detailed planning of his task. During the to-and-fro cruise by the ship 'Finn Polaris', the officer took pains to record hourly meteorological data, over the vast stretch of the ocean between the Indian mainland and Antarctica. In Antarctica the officer recorded a volume of meteorological observations, hourly current weather observations, upper wind data etc, in addition to briefing the IAF aircrew on weather conditions.

The officer was instrumental in procuring a set of photo copies of the satellite cloud imageries and facsimile charts from the Russian and the Easterman Stations at Antarctica, through personal visits and liaison.

For the invaluable services rendered by him as a member of the Third Antarctica Expedition and his outstanding contribution to Atmospheric Science, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Kiranchandra Indravadan Trivedi.

Squadron Leader Samarendra Nath Dasgupta joined an operational base on 11 Nov 79, on completion of his long-term specialised training in the UK on the advanced avionic weapon system of the Jaguar aircraft.

The Jaguar avionics and its testing equipment were introduced as an entirely new generation of technology in the Air Force. The new airborne equipment technology required commensurate sophistication in the servicing and testing facilities to be set up at the station. This task was entrusted to Sqn Ldr Dasgupta who accepted this challenge willingly and planned the installation of the facilities, gathered the required resources in a systematic fashion and executed the entire task with great determination and professional competence. It is through his professional competence, sense of involvement and good leadership that an Electronic Servicing Centre, Reconnaissance Servicing Centre, a Electrical Instrument Servicing Section and a Liquid Oxygen Bay were all set up to handle the servicing requirements of a modern combat aircraft. Apart from setting up these various bays, he even designed and fabricated all the test circuits to meet the local requirements. This he did purely voluntarily to save not only time but also valuable foreign exchange. Simultaneously, Sqn Ldr Dasgupta also ensured that our technical tradesmen were trained to handle the test equipment, since the aircraft were already operating at the base. For his extraordinary professional competence, dedication to duty and commendable leadership, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Samarendra Nath Dasgupta.

Flight Lieutenant Balligund Krishnamurthy Murali has been on the posted strength of a fighter squadron since 01 Apr 82.He was trained locally and has been employed as Officer-in-Charge DSS ever since.

During early 82, the re-equipment of the squadron, with an advanced version of the MiG aircraft was in progress, which involved receipt of aircraft, spares and the test equipment, besides consolidation of servicing procedures and acceptance of specialist vehicles and ground equipment. With his intelligence, foresight and hard work, he was able to achieve the allotted task in record time. His sound professional knowledge and tactful management of resources paid rich dividends and the first-line servicing was built on a firm footing.

Immediately after establishing sound technical practices. Flt Lt BK Murali on his own initiative took up the task of technical innovations. He utilised his knowledge and resources at his disposal to fabricate, out of salvaged and discarded materials, items like an indigenous Bomb Lifting Crane, a Mobile Hydraulic Type Building Rig, and also to modify the unit BZU-376 SB and the Tigers All-purpose Trolley.

The modification of a control and protection unit, fitted on the starting aggregate, was a technical marvel by itself. Flt Lt BK Murali was associated with the analysis of its complicated circuitry and fault finding.

For his devotion to duty, loyalty and exceptional ability to utilise his professional knowledge to augment operational efficiency, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Flt Lt Bellingund Krishnamurthy Murali.

Flying Officer Nav Ratan Shukla was commissioned in Jun 81 and since then has been posted at the Air Force Academy as Officer-in-Charge CR&SS.

Despite the introduction of various modifications, technical instructions and servicing bulletins, the snags of 'Nose Red' and Canopy Unlocking Warning have been occurring on the Kiran aircraft. Fg Offr Shukla designed and fabricated a special peg spanner for effectively locking the nose undercarriage downlock micro switch actuating pin, introduced vide Mod 287A. He evolved a system of determining the requirement of shimmying for this pin to render the microswitch operation foolproof. This has considerably reduced the 'Nose Red' incidents on post-Mod 287A/334 aircraft. These rigging instructions have since been accepted by both HAL and the IAF. Standard Technical Instructions, incorporating his design, are under issue.

Earlier, he suggested rigging instructions for clam shell operating mechanism, to overcome play in the canopy locking mechanism, which often resulted in a canopy unlocked warning. These instructions, accepted by HAL (BC), have since been issued for implementation. This has virtually eliminated the canopy defects.

As Officer-in-Charge CR&SS, Fg Offr Shukla has maintained a very high production output. His achievements and exceptional devotion to duty, have been a source of inspiration to maintenance personnel at the Academy.

For his commendable initiative and innovative skills, the President is pleased to grant Vishisht Seva Medal to Flying Officer Nav Ratan Shukla.

Warrant Officer Ramesh Chander Prabhakar MT/Fitter has been on the posted strength of an operational unit since 01 Jun 80. Trained in the USA in installation, maintenance and overhaul techniques of the high-powered White Superior Diesel Generating Sets, he is currently engaged in the task of providing 3rd and 4th line on-site maintenance for DG sets operating at six different locations.

One of the Diesel Generating Sets of an operational radar unit had seized due to failure of its lubrication system. This repair task was assigned to WO Prabhakar. With the use of the test and check facilities of a civil firm, it was found that the engine crankshaft, about 4 metres long and weighing 2 tons, had suffered excessive distortion, rendering the same beyond repairs. Checks also revealed that the parent bore axis of the engine bed plate itself was distorted. Since the latter could be corrected through precision machining only, a contract was awarded to a specialist civil firm in Delhi. Also a new crankshaft was obtained. However, after two weeks of round-the-clock work at site, the civil firm failed to achieve the specified machining accuracy and backed out, forfeiting a payment of Rs. 15,000/-. The problem was then taken up with the suppliers in the USA, who sent two experts for an on-thespot study. In Sep 83, the specialists advised Air Headquarters to replace the engine bed plate at the cost of $39,270.

Obsessed with a desire to succeed, he on his own initiative visited and contacted the specialists in the field at Ahmedabad, Indore and Calcutta, for additional information. He worked round-the-clock for nearly a month at site, and succeeded in correcting the distortion of the parent bore, axis, through use of shimming technique, to within acceptable limits. This obviated import of a new engine bed plate.

For this unique achievement and professional skill of a very high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Warrant Officer Ramesh Chander Prabhakar.

Warrant Officer Raman Gowd Rampuram Venkata, Instrument Fitter, has been on the posted strength of a fighter squadron since 13 Feb 83, Trained on one of the modern versions of the MiG aircraft in the USSR, he has been functioning with commendable efficiency as Warrant Officer-in-Charge of the Daily Servicing Section.

He possesses an exceptionally high level of professional knowledge of a relatively new technology aircraft and its avionic systems. His systematic approach to snag diagnosis and rectification has helped the unit substantially in maintaining the aircraft and its sophisticated avionics. His personal involvement and rare acumen, displayed by him in clearing the long outstanding control snags on the aircraft, are creditable.

His cheerful acceptance of responsibilities, willingness to work long hours and ability to train and motivate his subordinates to follow his example have won the confidence of everyone.

For his exceptional devotion to duty and loyalty, coupled with professionalism and technical acumen, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Warrant Officer Raman Gowd Ramapuram Venkata.

Wing Commander Sat Dev Gupta (5529) Accounts was commissioned in the Accounts Branch on 1st June, 1958. He joined Air Force as B Com with Intermediate Chartered Accountancy and acquired LL B and Cost Accountancy qualification while in service, a rare combination of academic and professional qualifications in the field of finance and accounts.

He has served with distinction in two major Air Force Stations viz Jalahali and New Delhi, two major Wings, Air Force Academy and two Equipment Depots. He also served with rare competence and personal involvement at Maintenance and Western Air Commands.

In July 1983 Wing Commander Gupta was posted to Directorate of Financial Planning as Deputy Director Cost Analysis. He is also entrusted with the work of evaluation of all HAL financial proposals. He has taken very keen interest in streamlining, updating and analyzing the costing returns to arrive at realistic flying and training costs. His searching and critical examination of HAL cost quotations in consultation with Defence (Finance) yielded in reduction of over Rs. 56 Cr during 1984-85. It was solely due to him that a saving of Rs. 72 lakhs was achieved in profit elements payable to HAL for Jaguar and Bahadur aircraft. His advice to Ministry on assessment of income tax on license fee paid to British Aircraft Corporation for manufacturing Jaguar Aircraft would result in a refund of Rs. 87 lakhs.

With his exceptional capabilities and their maximum utilization for the benefit of service, a highly devoted and result oriented approach, Wg Cdr Gupta has maintained a very high standard of performance and has build up a highly motivated team which has achieved extra-ordinary results. For distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Sat Dev Gupta (5529) Accounts.

Wing Commander Divaker Pande (5722) Administrative joined Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India on deputation from Air Force as Assistant Director in July 1980. Since then, he has been supervising the work relating to a very sensitive aspect of terrorism viz., hijacking of aircraft and terrorist tactics. From the beginning, he displayed a very keen sense of involvement and application in this highly specialized task. He has not only very competently

handled day-to-day requirement pertaining to continued threat to national security from various terrorist groups and extremists but also rendered valuable services during the national emergency arising out of as many as seven hijackings of Indian/foreign aircraft during the past four years.

Wg Cdr Pande has also very ably and successfully organized a number of Security Orientation Courses for police officers from within the country and abroad, briefing for Central Government Ministries/ Departments personnel and Seminars for senior level officers of Air India, Indian Airlines, DGCA and AAI. Besides, he has played an active role in the monitoring and review of security arrangements at airports in the country. In this capacity, he has represented the Intelligence Bureau in the appropriate airport review committee meetings.

In all operational and other assignments, Wg Cdr Pande has always displayed unfailing zeal, exceptional devotion to duty especially at time of pressure and emergencies, professional competence of a very high order and has contributed greatly to the overall task of organization as a whole. In view of the high professional competence displayed by him, his continuous deputation was considered as asset to the Intelligence Bureau.

He has always displayed a very high degree of involvement, firm determination and result oriented approach to his work. Besides, he has a very humane approach to welfare of his subordinates. He has at all times been able to maintain their morale very high and has always delivered their best from them.

For his exceptional devotion to duty, selfless devotion to work, inspiring leadership, brilliant professional skill and overall distinguished services of a very high order, the President is pleased to award Wing Commander Divaker Pande the Vishisht Seva Medal.

Wing Commander Ganaprakasam James Williams (6383) Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical) was commissioned in Dec 1961. He passed out of Air Force Technical College as the "Best in Aeronautical Engineering" of the course. He held various key appointments viz. Engineering Officer, Flight Engineer, Chief Engineering Officer, Officer Commanding Repair & Salvage Unit and Staff posts in Command and Air Headquarters with distinction. In the past, he was commended by Chief of the Air Staff in 1977 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Headquarters Maintenance Command in 1971.

On being posted as Chief Planning & Coordinating Officer at a Base Repair Depot in Feb 83, he reorganized the complete planning Wing to make it goal oriented. In material planning, he ensured that all the daily requirement of spares (Consumable Automatic Replenishment System, Rotables etc) were packed in a kit as per the worksheet relating in that particular day's job and were made available to the technician before the commencement of the work. For this purposed he put the concept of kit marshalling into a real practice. Needless to mention that the depot could complete the full task well in advance and the entire credit for this goes to the unending efforts of Wg Cdr Williams.

For effective utilization of resources - men, material and machines - Wg Cdr Williams devised a system of quarterly forecasting, monthly planning and weekly schedule of production. Each schedule was daily monitored and re-scheduled to meet the available resources. This has paid a very high dividend in terms of depot morale since the technicians are fully aware of what they are required to produce and are fully equipped with these resources.

To keep the production going inspite of the difficulty in obtaining spares from abroad, Wing Commander Williams made a special drive in indigenous substitution of imported items. A special mention is made about his achievement in regard to Rubber items and Aircraft General Stores items.

It has been due to the efforts of Wg Cdr Williams, his intelligence and creative ideas that the Depot has been completing the full task since the time he has been posted to this Depot. He set a personal example of dedication and hard work which resulted in inspiration and enthusiasm to all the personnel of this Depot. His motivating techniques resulted in fulfillment of task which was instrumental in getting this Depot the "Best BRD" Trophy in 1984.

For his outstanding contribution and selfless devotion to duty of a high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ganaprakasam James Williams.

Wing Commander Vinod Kumar Parashar (6416) Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical) was commissioned in Dec 61. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College Wellington and has held various Command and Staff appointments with distinction. Presently, he is holding the appointment of Production Planning and Co-coordinating officer at one of the Base Repair Depots.

In Nov 84, the Base Repair Depot was called upon to accomplish a unique engineering feat in the annals of our aviation history. The project called for modification of Mi-8 Helicopter for Special Heliborne Operations (SHBO) by installing dispensing devices for spraying thousands of Ltrs of special fluid over a specific area in about thirty seconds. The time limit for accomplishing the task was very critical and the work had to be undertaken on a war footing.

The operational requirements (ORs) being very stringent project needed deep study and analysis. Wg Cdr Parashar went ahead methodically, carried out a number of experiments on the ground, using com pressed air pressure for spray initially. Further scientific study of various parameters brought about spectacular improvements. It needed indepth study of hydraulics, behavior of fluid spread under various conditions, particularly under helicopter hover to study the effect of down-draught. Installation of tanks, pumps and pipe structures etc was done ensuring rigidity under actual operational flying conditions. Final configuration could only be arrived at, after a number of unsuccessful attempts. Wg Cdr Parashar did not give up but went ahead with unflinching vigour using scientific methods.

As the time-schedule was very tight, Wg Cdr Parashar and his team put in prolonged hours of work extending beyond midnight hours which he did, disregarding personal comfort.

In the above task, Wg Cdr Vinod Kumar Parashar has achieved a rare distinction shown a very high degree of technical capability and devotion to duty. The President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ganaprakasam James Williams.

Wing Commander Amar Chand Sharma (6684) Dental was commissioned in the Army Dental Corps in August 1962. Throughout his 23 years of service he has acquitted him self with utmost distinction in a number of highly demanding assignments and conducted himself in exemplary manner in both professional and administrative capacitates. He holds Master's degree in Orthodontics from Lucknow University and a certificate of merit from American Society of Dentistry for children, Ohio University, USA. He stood first in the aviation dentistry course in 1967. Again he was placed first in senior Dental Officers' Course held at Armed Forces Medical College, Pune in 1970.

Wg Cdr AC Sharma has done extensive research on the craniofacial pattern of Gurkhas and Kumaonese in the Armed Forces. The norms established by him for them have revolutionized the concept of Orthodontic treatment in these ethnic groups. Besides this Wg Cdr Sharma has done a variety of other researches including two armed forces medical research committee projects which have gone a long way in improving professional standards in the Armed Forces Dental Services. He has presented numerous scientific papers at meetings of professional societies and won national acclaim.

Because of his outstanding qualifications, in 1982 he was appointed as an Orthodontist and Instructor to Officer trainees in advanced course in Orthodontics at the prestigious Armed Forces Dental Clinic, New Delhi. During his tenure at AFDC, Wg Cdr Sharma made numerous innovative changes in the concept of orthodontics treatment. His professional reputation has resulted in phenomenal increase in the number of personnel seeking corrective treatment for orthodontic problems. The average number of cases have gone up from 26 to 382.

Wg Cdr Sharma's professional competence came in for special mention during 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak Operations, where he was actively involved in treatment of Mazillofacial war casualties.

He is the visiting Orthodontist to the Royal family of Bhutan. His outstanding performance received special mention from Royal family of Bhutan and the high dignitaries of that country.

In recognition of his professional competence of a very high order, devotion to service and dedication to duty and consistently outstanding performance beyond the normal call of duty, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Amar Chand Sharma.

Wing Commander Ranbir Singh Chauhan (6965) Logistics was commissioned in Jan 63. He is an outstanding sportsman and was specially selected to undergo training in National Institute of Sports, Patiala. He has rendered distinguished service in all the Command and Staff Appointments held by him.

He was in Command of An Air Stores Park from 30 Dec 82 to 08 Mar 85. ASP has an extremely vital role to play in providing the Lgs Support to operational units in the Western and Southwestern theaters. Normally, it deals mainly with aircraft spares and Automatic Replenishment System items. During the tenure of Wg Cdr RS Chauhan the workload of ASP multiplied many times. With the introduction of revised clothing policy, with most of the supplies being located in the North, Air Headquarters decided to use the ASP virtually as a clothing depot for receiving urgently required consignments and distributing them to the units all over the Air Force in order to ensure timely kitting of airmen. Due to shortage of storage accommodation Wg Cdr RS Chauhan had to devise his own methods for ensuring the fastest turnover since he was in no position to store the clothing items for any length of time. This task involved meticulous planning and long working hours for the ASP. It is to his credit of this officer that he motivated his men to rise to the occasion and comp leted all the extra tasks assigned to him.

He is a dynamic leader and has a great sense of responsibility. It was due to his leadership, zeal, devotion and total com mitment to the tasks in hand that the ASP, under his Command, was able to bag the Best Equipment Depot/Air Store Park Trophy for the first time.

For his distinguished service of a high order, his devotion to duty and loyalty to service, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ranbir Singh Chauhan.

Wing Commander Subhash Krishnarao Parelkar (7145) was commissioned in the Flying (Navigator) Branch of the Indian Air Force in March 1963. He served with dis tinction in Transport squadrons and qualified as a Navigator instructor. Subsequently, he served in the Air Headquarters Communica tion Squadron where only aircrew of proven merits are posted. He has to his credit 4,645 hours and his flying proficiency has been graded as exceptional on two different occasions.

Since March 1991, Wg Cdr Parelkar has served as Deputy Director VIP Operations at Air Headquarters, throughout rendering exceptional service. In the wake of Lok Sabha elections, a challenging task was entrusted to him of planning and execution of tightly scheduled movements of fixed wing aircraft and helicopter for the tours of the Prime Minister covering as many as 190 helipads besides visits to several recognized airfields. The officer was responsible for coordinating these VVIP movements with Air Force Commands and was a single point contact for all civil agencies including the Ministry of Defence, Intelligence Bureau, State Governments and several others. Unmindful of his personal comfort, with a high sense of responsibility the officer had throughout put in work for almost 18 hours a day to organize those flights and monitored their progress for proper execution. He ensured compliance with all the flight safety considerations so vital in the execution of VVIP flights. It is largely a measure of his personal tact, organizing ability, purposeful intelligence and dedicated hard work that despite several last minute changes all VVIP and VIP flights were carried out smoothly thus winning the respect of several high government authorities. The efforts of the officer were highly appreciated by the Prime Minister himself.

Throughout, Wg Cdr Parelkar displayed exceptional sense of duty, efficiency and professional competence of an exceptional order. For his distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Subhash Krishnarao Parelkar.

Wing Commander Bipin Chandran Kurup (7505) Administrative was commissioned in the Jun 63 and inducted into air defence stream. With his extraordinary keenness and devotion to his profession, he attained professional categories in very short time.

During his tenure at two premier Signal Units he worked hard, much beyond the call of duty, to prepare and formulate training documents. Some examples of the officer's total involvement are the work done by him on a number of fighter controllers' notes. The notes prepared by him on the sophisticated radar, when it was inducted into service, are extensively used by all controllers even today. His zeal, organizing ability and devotion to duty had been instrumental in enabling his units to maintain a high category state of controllers, thereby improving the operational potential of the unit.

The officer with unflagging zeal and utmost devotion carried out his excellent work, when posted to the Directorate of Air Staff Inspection. He brought about many effective changes in the pattern of inspection, wherein realistic live and simulated exercises were undertaken for analysis of operational potential of units. He revised the syllabus and procedure of fighter controller's categorization scheme to meet the challenge of changing ground environment. Inspite of the busy inspection schedule, he always willingly involved himself in organizing professional activities, like workshops for examiners and publication of articles on professional subjects.

Wing Commander Kurup, with his keen intellect, professional acumen, untiring zeal, practical approach to problems and meticulous attention to details has made a significant contribution in improving the operational preparedness of Air Defence Units. The President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Bipin Chandran Kurup.

Wing Commander Manoj Ghosh (7641) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned in Jul 63. Upto 1973 he was engaged in various duties in Signal units. In 1973, he was selected for training on advance radar at Thomson-CSF, France.

During the first installation of this advanced radar, IAF officers and airmen were imparted on-the-job training by French engineers on the system. Wg Cdr Ghosh had specialized in the transmitter system of this radar. Within a short period of time, by dedicated hard work and application he was able to master the transmitter system to such an extent that he was able to solve complicated problems faced during the installation even without the assistance of French engineers. The keen understanding, hardwork, sincerity and dedication shown by this officer during the period of installation of the first radar was highly commended by the Thomson-CSF engineers. Over the ensuing years he had improved upon this knowledge by dedicated application to his task as result of which he is today consulted as an authority on the transmitter system even by the manufacturers of this radar. Very often he had rendered expert advice to the manufacturer in solving problems faced by them during the process of manufacture and testing.

In order to effectively utilize the expertise gained by this officer in installation activities, Wg Cdr Ghosh was posted to a Radar System Installation Unit in Jan 83 as Commanding Officer. One such radar is being installed by the Radar System Installation Unit at a location in the Eastern Sector. This site is an isolated location with very poor communication facilities as a result of which Wg Cdr Ghosh had to function independently and set up from scratch the infrastructure required for installation of this magnitude. This involved not only coordination of al the activities pertaining to the radar system but also the civil engineering aspects connected with construction of various buildings constituting a totally new Air Force complex. The creditable manner in which this officer has been able to coordinate and execute the various activities has resulted in a new Signal Unit complex blossoming in this isolated location.

A smart and highly disciplined officer with very pleasing manners he has set a personal example for the officers under his command. For his high standard of professional skill, initiative, devotion to duty, ability for sustained hardwork and for his having rendered distinguished service throughout his service career, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Manoj Ghosh.

Wing Commander Awatar Krishan Zadoo (7922) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned in Oct 63. He has been working as Command Ground Electronics Systems Officer at Headquarters Western Air Command, Indian Air Force since Dec 83. During his tenure, he has shown remarkable foresight, vision and high sense of perception in his job spectrum. He has completed successful tenures earlier as Senior Engineer (Electronics) at two major fighter stations, besides a challenging tenure as the first Chief Examiner (Electronics) at the Groundcrew Examination Board.

Due to his dedicated efforts, backed by technical knowledge of high order, Wg Cdr Zadoo was largely responsible for installation and operational availability of the first two indigenous produced high power mobile radars at operational sites in Northern sector. He displayed initiative and drive in coordinating efforts connected with providing technical advice, maintenance support and spares for bringing indigenously produced high power static radar to operational status.

Wg Cdr Zadoo has displayed personal drive, enthusiasm and zeal in equipping Mobile Observation Flights, Signals Units and Flying Stations with telecommunications equipment, navigational aids etc, thereby enabling them to meet various operational requirements effectively. He has identified and successfully put into operational use indigenous power supply units and power packs for fitment into imported telecommunications equipment, thereby effecting foreign exchange savings.

The officer with his personal drive, initiative, professional zeal and unflinching devotion to duty has proved an asset to the Service. For his distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Awatar Krishan Zadoo.

Wing Commander Jaspal Singh Kalra (7999) Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical) was commissioned in Jul 64. He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College and has held various Staff and Field Appointments with distinction. In his present appointment at Head quarters Eastern Air Command, he has rendered distinguished service of a high order.

Soon after taking over his responsibilities, he studied the problems afflicting the aircraft fleets entrusted to him, analyzed each aspect thoroughly and set about removing constraints and improving the maintenance activities. By his systematic and persistent efforts, serviceability of aircraft and helicopter under his charge has consistently improved over the months and now stands well above the serviceability targets fixed for Badal, Pratap, Chetaks and Cheetah aircraft.

Wg Cdr Kalra's efforts on the improvement of maintenance culture by enforcing correct technical practices have been very rewarding. He has been largely responsible for formulating the task of 'Action Groups' and 'Hazard Evaluation Teams', and a number of Command Maintenance Instructions. He had ensured through frequent visits to the field units that the servicing personnel did understand various technical instructions issued by Air Headquarters and Command Headquarters and strictly comply these instructions.

Wg Cdr Kalra has taken keen interest in the promotion of better quality control of aviation fuel. He organized courses with the assistance of Indian Oil Corporation, helped units in improving quality control laboratory and thereby brought about significant improvement of Quality Control set up, even in the remote Advanced Landing Grounds.

To accomplish the above tasks, he has displayed commendable enthusiasm, perseverance, anticipation, analytical power, staff work, organizing capability and professional competence of a very high order. For his dedication, hard work and significant contribution in improving aircraft serviceability, training and technical practices, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Jaspal Singh Kalra.

Wing Commander Dasari Jaya Paul (8361) Dental was commissioned on 05 Mar 44 as General Duty Dental Officer. Even when young and relatively junior in service, the officer displayed exceptional professional skill and his consistent endeavour was to enhance the Dental coverage qualitatively and quantitatively. For his exemplary professional standards he was commended by AOC-in-C WAC in Jan 72.

Presently he is commanding a Dental Centre in the Western Sector. The officer, through his cheerful and pleasant disposition, keenness to maintain sound professional standards and dedication to his profession in the form of service to the maximum number of personnel and their families, has built up a very high professional reputation amongst all personnel and their families. He has developed a rare blend of dedication to the service and compassion and sympathy for patients upholding the ethics of Medical profession worth of emulation. Being the only Dental Officer for over 12,000 AF personnel and families, he is often called upon to attend to patients at odd hours. He undertakes this task most willingly.

Wing Commander Dasari Jaya Paul (8631) Dental, for his exceptional dedication to the service, professionalism of a very high order to maintain the ethos of the Air Force community, sustained hard, cheerful and pleasant disposition even under adverse conditions, initiative, enthusiasm and exemplary conduct and behavior and example worthy of emulation has rendered distinguished service of a high order. The President is pleased to award him the Vishisht Seva Medal.

Wing Commander Jagat Narain Shukla (8548) was commissioned in the Administrative Branch of the Indian Air Force on 27 Jan 64. Since then he has held several challenging appointments such as Fighter Controller, Assistant and Deputy Provost Marshal, Assistant Director of Personnel (Officers) and Camp Commandant at Air Headquarters.

At Air Force Station Bikaner, the unit faced acute shortage of water and considerable improvement was needed in the living conditions of the airmen. Though the problem was outside the charter of duties, Wg Cdr Shukla volunteered and worked ceaselessly to achieve the twin objectives through dedicated and effective liaison with civil and local Military authorities.

As Assistant Provost Marshal at Agra, Wg Cdr Shukla was an embodiment of discipline, courage and conviction. He, on a number of occasions, endangered his life to apprehend a large number of notorious thieves responsible for several thefts of valuable service property. On one occasion he displayed courage of a very high order to save the life of a labourer buried in a well by endangering his own life and earned gallantry award of Shaurya Chakra.

In Nov 83, the officer took over the appointment of Camp Commandant, Air Headquarters, an unenviable appointment by all standards. The officer introduced several cost effective methods, significantly reduced cost of maintenance and supplies of essential and routine items. An effective and dedicated liaison with civil authorities helped in completing several Works Services and clear administrative bottle necks. This greatly improved the efficiency and level of satisfaction among the staff.

During the month of Feb 85, the Chief of the Air Staff desired to re-organise Air Headquarters to achieve greater efficiency. The shifting of nearly forty Directorates and subdirectorates from Vayu Bhavan to RK Puram and vice versa was a Herculean task. Wg Cdr Shukla worked around the clock even on Sundays and holidays and executed the task in an excellent manner with least damage to service property and at a negligible cost.

For his consistent performance of a high order involving untiring hard work, devotion to duties, high quality of leadership, organizing capability, cost effective management of resources in achieving desired results, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Jagat Narain Shukla, SC.

Wing Commander Ganapragasam Usther Dhanaraj (8570) Administrative was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on 27 Jun 64. He was trained in the Air Traffic Control and after attending some specialist courses had done field jobs for about 16 years and had earned a name for himself. He had to carry out his job even outside officer hours and he did it cheerfully and willingly with a high sense of loyalty.

Wg Cdr Dhanraj is on staff duties for the last five years. From Oct 81 to Nov 84, he had worked as Staff Officer to Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans), where he had to deal with four Directorates and was of great help to the ACAS (Plans) in the smooth functioning of this officer during the period. He had to receive large number of visitors, mostly foreigners, in connection with the evaluation and negotiations of new inductions and he performed this duty with utmost care, intelligence and devotion. For the last one year, he is working as Staff Officer to the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. He works very hard and is utterly devoted to his job and does more than his fair share - no doubt at considerable personal inconvenience. He has thus become utterly indispensable. For his high degree of involvement, total dedication, unflinching loyalty, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Ganapragasam Usther Dhanaraj.

Wing Commander Sajjan Singh Sidhu (9188) Administrative was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in Dec 64. Throughout his career, he has performed the duties assigned to him effectively, with utmost industry and in the best interest of the service. On a number of occasions, he carried out these tasks at considerable personal risk and inconvenience.

As a Station Security Officer and Counter Intelligence Officer at one of the forward AF Stations, Wg Cdr Sidhu established excellent rapport with his counterparts in local army units and civil intelligence agencies. He also maintained close liaison with all the Sarpanches and got regular inputs from them. He had geared up the Station Security staff to meet any unforeseen contingency, particularly during Punjab disturbances and operation Blue Star. He knew the pulse of the villagers all around the Airfield and was thus able to advise the Air Officer Commanding and ensure suitable anticipatory measures well in time.

When Wg Cdr Sidhu was posted in Jun 82 as many as fourteen cases involving this Station were pending in Civil Courts. The cases pertained to Air Force farmland leased out to civilians for cultivation. All these cases were followed vigorously by him and closed without any adverse reflection on the Air Force. He was able to use his experience favourable as a qualified lawyer.

Wg Cdr Sidhu has given an excellent account of himself in the capacities that he has functioned at the Station and is a very fine example of highly motivated and dedicated officer. He is willing, very positive and a very fine field worker. He works tirelessly throughout the day with total disregard to his personal convenience or family needs.

For his professionalism, sense of duty and distinguished service of a high order, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Sajjan Singh Sidhu.

Wing Commander Dinesh Chander Bhardwaj (9545) Flying (Pilot) was commissioned in the Air Force in May 65. He is an experienced pilot with over 4,800 hrs of accident free flying. He holds the highest transport Category and Rating.

He was in Command of a transport squadron from Oct 83 to Dec 84. His Squadron equipped with aircraft which had been in service for over two decades. When he took over command, the aircraft were having several incidents and failures and the reliability was low. Wg Cdr Bhardwaj, in consultation with his Squadron Engineers, devised preventive maintenance which greatly improved the aircraft reliability. During his command of the Squadron met, and even exceeded, the allotted airmaintenance and flying tasks. He also took keen interest in the training of his officers. It is because of his efforts that over 85% of the crew in the Squadron are categorized and large number are holding above the average categories. This could be possible only by his close and active involvement, dedicated and sustained efforts, outstanding managerial and organizing ability and skill, professional capability of a high order and capacity to ensure great personal discomforts for the sake of service. He was able to infuse a high degree of enthusiasm and dedication in his officers and men.

For dedication to duty, high professional standards, and exemplary leadership, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Wing Commander Dinesh Chander Bhardwaj.

Squadron Leader Ashok Kumar Marwaha (10418) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned in the Air Force in Mar 67. He has held various field and staff appoint ments where he excelled himself.

Sqn Ldr AK Marwaha earlier as Officer incharge Test Equipment and Calibration Section at a Base Repair Depot had streamlined the procedure of calibration and repair of sophisticated equipment received from Air Force Units. Through his systematic and logical approach, he had minimized time consumed for repair and dispatch of test equipment back to units which is a vital requirement of the operational units.

Later Sqn Ldr Marwaha was detailed to work in the Engine Repair Section. Although, he is an officer from electronic system, he was given this responsibility because of his efficiency and interest in learning new jobs. Through his efforts and intelligent planning, he removed various bottlenecks in production of engines and has been instrumental in improving quality of overhaul and achieving record production inspite of shortage of spares.

At one time, the production of Engine used on Mi-8 Helicopter came to a grinding halt due to unserviceability of frequency testing machine used for testing the blades, compressors, turbine rotor. Inspite of the non-availability of spares from USSR for this machine, this officer accepted the challenge and took up the repairs of this critical machine. He applied himself methodically, modified circuit of amplifier unit, designed and fabricated components and was successful in servicing the rig. As a result not only production was re-started but at the same time, opened the way to indigenize repair of this machine and eliminated the dependence on foreign resources. Through his initiative and innovative ideas, this officer also indigenized the fabrication of many vital tools and components like bearing extractor, wire check tools and modification of templates etc. This avoided many hold ups due to non-supply of items from USSR.

For his professional competence, initiative, dedicated devotion to duty, eagerness to accept challenges and excellent contribution to the Engine Repair Section, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Ashok Kumar Marwaha.

Squadron Leader Kirti Shekhar Chaturvedi (12100) Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) was commissioned in Air Force in Jul 69 and has held various field appointments with distinction.

Sqn Ldr Chaturvedi was one of the technical officers trained in the USSR on Vijay aircraft. On his return, his high degree of professional knowledge was evident when asked to give presentation to the AOC-in-C South Western Air Command on aircraft sight. His questioning attitude coupled with a friendly demeanor disarmed the pilots and he obtained a wealth of information about the sight's behaviour in flight. This led to his ensuring a better maintenance of sight and consequent improvement in the Squadron Armament results. As Officer Incharge Daily Servicing Section his able leadership contributed to a high standard of morale amongst his men. His high sense of cooperation has built an unbreakable bond between the pilots and the technical team.

As Senior Technical Officer of one of the Squadrons, his tireless quest for higher standards has led to a higher state of aircraft serviceability. His positive attitude to any innovation and subsequent encouragement has led the technical tradesmen of the squadron to innovate and improve the present available resources. The Squadron has many innovations to its credit like the engine inhibiting rig for which Sqn Ldr Chaturvedi provided the guidance and patronage.

For his consistent hard work, professional skill and knowledge and for his able leadership, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Squadron Leader Kirti Shekhar Chaturvedi.

Flight Lieutenant Gurmeet Singh Sandhu (14786) Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical), who was commissioned in Indian Air Force on 03 Jan 77, has been on the posted strength of Headquarters Western Air Command (Unit), Air Force w.e.f. 16 Jun 80.

Flt Lt Sandhu has been an outstanding sportsman and has the rare distinction of representing the country in international competition in two games i.e., Basket Ball and Hand Ball. He captained the services team in National Basket Ball and Hand Ball championships winning both of them.

Flt Lt Sandhu represented India in the first Asian Youth Basket Ball championship at Seoul, South Korea in 1970. He was a member of the Services Basket Ball team from 1978 to 1981 and captained the Services team in 198081. He was a member of the Air Force Basket Ball team which had visited Bhutan on a good will visit on the invitation of His Majesty the King of Bhutan. Flt Lt Sandhu also represented India in the second Asian Hand Ball championship at Nanking, China in Oct-Nov 79. He was vice captain of the Indian Hand Ball team during the Asian Games held at Delhi in 1982 and also at the first International Hand Ball Tournament at Hyderabad in April, 1982. He has also the honour of winning seven consecutive National Gold Medals in the National Hand Ball Championships.

Apart from his personal achievements in sports, he has also, by his inspiring leadership, brought about tremendous improvements in the Basket Ball and Hand Ball teams of Western Air Command which resulted in the Command wining these two games in the last Air Force Sports meet. Due to his distinguished achievements towards the promotion of sports, he was adjudged the 'Best Sportsman of the year 1982' in the Indian Air Force and was presented the Chief of the Air Staff Trophy by then Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi in April, 1982.

Flight Lieutenant Gurmeet Singh Sandhu has not only brought laurels to the service in the field of sports but by his untiring efforts, personal example and fruitful guidance to the others has contributed to improvement in the standard of sports in the Air Force, the President is pleased to award him the Vishisht Seva Medal.

Presently he is posted as WO i/c Daily Servicing Section of an Air Observation Post unit. An unassuming and extremely dedicated Warrant Officer he has by sacrificing all personal comforts and leisure involved himself fully and ensured 100% serviceability of aircraft in the Unit for the last four months.

He is an outstanding supervisor who keeps the cutting edge of the Air Force sharp. He is not only an asset to any unit but also a shining example for others to emulate.

In view of his consistent distinguished performance, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Master Warrant Officer Manik Lal Saha.

220970-H Master Warrant Officer Pritham Pal Singh Mechanical Transport Driver has been working as Mechanical Transport Officer at HQ Training Command (Unit) since June 1984. The MT Section of this unit has large fleet of transports and provides MT coverage to a large number of units including HQ Training Command, IAF. Apart from this, the unit has to meet the additional task for providing staff cars to all visiting VIPs and high dignitaries from other formations. Inspite of acute shortage of experienced and qualified MTD tradesmen and transports, he has managed to achieve a high standard of maintenance and serviceability state of transports. By his superior planning ability and intelligence, he has always handled the difficult task very carefully and wisely. Recently, through his own efforts he has introduced a modern type of Daily Inspection point to facilitate the MTDs to carry out DI of MT vehicles quickly and comfortably.

In a short span of time he was instrumental in devising procedures for control and coordination of MT section particularly the large number of cars on its fleet. During the tenure he has achieved highest rate of fuel economy by means of his superior planning and coordination of MT runs to the maximum. On many occasions he has worked from morning till late hours in the night in order to meet the urgent and important task of the section.

MWO PP Singh has carried out his duties with exceptional enthusiasm and intelligence. With his exceptional ability and deep knowledge of his trade, he has brought the section to the highest standard of efficiency in all respects.

He has been constantly guiding and training his subordinates not only from supervisory level but also keeping close contact at the working level. For his exceptional work he was commended by Air Officer-in-charge Administration on 15 Aug 76 and by Chief of the Air Staff on 26 Jan 79.

For dedication and devotion to his duties and exceptional ability, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to 220970-H Master Warrant Officer Pritham Pal Singh.

230361 Warrant Officer Jai Singh Sidhu Indian Air Force/Police was enrolled in the AF in Dec 60 and ever since he has worked with distinction in various assignments entrusted to him as AF Policeman. Presently he is posted as Counter Intelligence Operator in a liaison unit.

During 1984, the situation prevailing in the country demanded the highest degree of

vigilance, diligence, dedication and total efficiency from CI Operators of this unit. WO JS Sidhu as a CI Operator worked with complete disregard to his personal comfort and greatly contributed to this Unit's efforts in providing effective CI cover to major AF establishments within its area of responsibility. He carried out his duties with total devotion, complete integrity and without fear or favour. On many occasions WO Sidhu was given the task of CI interrogations and in each assignment he came out with flying colours thereby making valuable contribution to the achievement of the unit's task.

WO Sidhu put in selfless service and exhibited the highest standard of devotion to duty. There is hardly a day, be it working or a holiday, when WO Sidhu has not performed at least 12 hours duty in the unit. Through his selfless devotion to duty and hard work he has set the finest example for his subordinates to follow for his superiors to cherish.

For outstanding devotion to service, untiring zeal, exemplary conduct, unflinching integrity and professional competence of a high order, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to 230361 Warrant Officer Jai Singh Sidhu

230990 Junior Warrant Officer Jung Bahadur Chand Airframe Fitter was enrolled in the Indian Air Force in Dec 60. He is a recipient of commendation by the Chief of the Air Staff for his dedicated exemplary work in the filed of aviation. He has shown an unmatchable example of hard work, zeal, enthusiasm and skill through out his service career and has shouldered greater amount of responsibility.

During the recent flood relief operations in Andhra Pradesh and its adjoining state Tamil Nadu, he relentlessly worked day in and day out, at base and at outstation and kept the involved aircraft flying-worthy throughout the operation. At times while being JWO i/c detachment he has not only worked on the aircraft tirelessly but has also taken part in flying activities as a member of food dropping party.

JWO Chand is not only keen and hard working individual but has a critical eye for details. He has on numerous occasions found technical defects/damages to aircraft which could have gone unnoticed and lead to serious problems. He inspired his crew with personal example and carried out all tasks in a most professional manner.

Just when the flood relief operations were getting over the unit was entrusted a gigantic task of looking after the Prime Minister's electioneering tour of whole of South and adjoining state of Maharashatra and Madhya Pradesh. Throughout the month eight helicopters of unit flew continuously: 50, 100 & 200 servicing fell due at the shortest possible period ever known to the unit. In five days two 50 hrs and two hundred hrs servicing were carried out. This, otherwise exceptionally difficult task, couldn't have been accomplished, if JWO Chand hadn't been there.

For his dedication, hard work, tireless effort, zeal, enthusiasm and professional competence, the President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Junior Warrant Officer Jung Bahadur Chand.

605854 Sergeant Mahanand Prasad Electrical Fitter was enrolled in the Air Force in April 68. His contribution towards better maintenance practices in his trade have been exemplary. His major achievements include: a. Fabrication of Current Consumption Tester. b. Fabrication of Trim Current Tester. c. Fabrication of Ignition Coil Tester. d. Fabrication of rig to carry out basic error check. e. Complete wiring and installation of pick up and drop out current tester. f. Wiring and installation of Inverter Test Rig. g. Wiring and installation of Milli Volt Drop Tester for undercarriage selector switch. h. Wiring and installation of tester to carry out pick up and drop out voltage and current.

Sgt Prasad is also currently working on the fabrication of an Inverter Test Rig. Also he has progressed substantially in a modification of electrical circuitry in order to avoid tyre burst on landing due to malfunction of inertia pick up. This modification when incorporated will go a long way in avoiding tyre burst on MiG-21 aircraft, due to malfunction of inertia pick ups.

Sgt Prasad has shown his exceptional skill and mettle over the years. His creative talents, innovative ideas and initiative are truly commendable. A dedicated worker, he has always upheld the finest traditions of the service and has always put service before self, a true professional in the real sense, his putting in a lot of hard work and produce results. The President is pleased to award the Vishisht Seva Medal to Sergeant Mahanand Prasad.

Group Captain Sivaramakrishnan Srinivasan was commissioned on 1 Jun 60. During his service career he has held various posts in the field and staff assignments.

The Officer was posted as the Chief Engineering Officer of a forward air base in Dec 83. As the head of the Maintenance Organisation, it was his responsibility to optimize the availability and utilization of the vast technical resources of this base which he did extremely efficiently and with maximum safety.

During the last two years, under his active and energetic guidance, the maintenance system has been streamlined and so structured that increased flying effort is available, particularly for the Rakshak fleet. This has been achieved by stringent control of stagger, effective planning of a high order and optimum utilization of manpower, credit for which must go to Gp Capt Srinivasan. Besides the inspections and consequent increase in the flying effort, setting up and effective utilization of new systems like Radar Test Facility, missile testing complex and the specialist vehicles etc have also been carried out successfully under the overall supervision of the officer.

For this commendable professional acumen and dedication, which contributed to the performance enhancement of the airbase, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Group Captain S Srinivasan.

Group Captain Ramesh Nath Singh was posted to the Directorate of Financial Planning on 01 Jul 85. He took over the arduous task of development of a manual Management Information System and set about this job with perseverance and rare professional skill. The MIS developed by him has been of immense help in scrutiny of Hindustan Aeronautical Limited quotations and speedily furnishing information to various directorates and the Ministry of Defence. He has also streamlined the cost accounting procedures in respect of squadrons and training units, resulting in substantial saving of man hours at units in rendition of cost returns.

Efforts made in the past of introduce cost accounting in Base Repair Depots have not been successful as they had demanded additional manpower for it. At the same time, it has been considered essential to cost BRD activities as they use bulk of Air Force resources. Gp Capt RN Singh undertook the task of simplifying BRD costing while retaining the essentials elements of it so that this activity could be taken up within the existing manpower resources. He exhibited deep professional understanding and unusual determination in accomplishing this task. This step will go a long way in developing cost consciousness, informed decision making and achieving a sense of accountability.

No scientific system existed till recently for finalization of HAL cost quotations. With an active and positive involvement of Gp Capt RN Singh, a procedure has been developed to effectively vet HAL quotations. Adoption of this procedure resulted in a saving of about Rs. 64 crores to the IAF during 1985-86.

For his versatile ingenuity, outstanding devotion to duty, managerial capability and professional competence, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Group Captain RN Singh.

Group Captain Sankaranarayana Ramaswamy Joined the Indian Air Force in 1961. During his service of 25 years, he has held various important and challenging posts.

While he was functioning as the Training Co-ordination Officer at Air Force Technical College, he earned a commendation from Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command in the year 1976.

As a Wing Commander, he had two successive tenures as Chief Technical Officer of two Signal Units. With his verve and vigour he could maintain the old radar sets to extract peak performance. Due to his significant innovative contribution, he was awarded the commendation of the Chief of the Air Staff in Aug 83.

On taking over command of a very sensitive Signal Unit in Jan 83, he set the prime objective of improving the functional efficiency of the unit. The unit, fundamentally a base repair depot, could achieve a production target of 106% during the year 1985-86, a record of performance to-date. This increased the operational availability of sensitive equipment. This was due to the initiative drive and dedication of this officer.

The officer has introduced useful innovations in teaching technique and training aids to improve the quality of training in keeping with the increased sophistication of electronic warfare system that have been inducted ort are under induction. During the year 1985-86, the unit could undertake increased training commitments besides many other ad hoc tasks.

For his excellent professional competence, positive outlook, dedication to duty and inspiring leadership, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Group Captain Sankaranarayana Ramaswamy.

Group Captain Dharam Singh Minhas has been on the posted strength of a Base Repair Depot since Jun 84. On being appointed Officer-in-Charge Material Planning and Control, he streamlined the procedure for rotables production and control, mandatory and non-mandatory lists preparation, for accurate provisioning and local purchase of consumables. He took over the AN-12 Division in Aug 84, where overhaul of AN-12 Aircraft was behind schedule. With his tremendous zeal, organizing capability and excellent interpersonal relations the assigned AN-12 task for the year 1984-85 was completed well in time.

In Apr 85 he was appointed Production Planning and Control Officer to plan and control overhaul of AN-12 Aircraft, Pratap Helicopters and their engines. With critical analysis of the work contents of various overhaul divisions based on Government approved tasks, he redistributed the manpower for effective utilization. With commendable devotion to duty, exemplary initiative and sustained hard work he introduced the system of direct loading of components for Pratap helicopters overhaul which not only resulted in less handling of components, reduced paper work and little wastage of precious manpower, but also helped the depot in its improved monitoring and streamlined information collection for effective control. Besides, having been detailed to look after the Engine Overhaul Division, Group Captain Minhas brought about record production of engines in the year 1985-86.

In recognition of his dedication to duty, exemplary initiative, exceptional professional skill and outstanding qualities of leadership, the President is pleased to award Vishisht Seva Medal to Group Captain Dharam Singh Minhas.