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Lieutenant General (Retired) BS Dhaliwal was a highly decorated officer of the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers who retired in 2007 as the Engineer-in-Chief. Following his distinguished 40-year military career, he served as the long-standing Advisor (Technical/Infrastructure) to the Chief Minister of Punjab.Military & Civilian Career Highlights:Army Engineer: Commanded key assignments within the Military Engineering Service and the Border Roads Organisation.
Awards: Decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), and Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM).
Advisory Role: Handled policy, infrastructure, and technology advisory roles for over a decade, serving across consecutive state governments.
Professional Contributions & Honors:Engineering Acclaim: First Indian to win the “Engineer of the Year Award” by the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) in Singapore (2011). He also received the Golden Peacock Award on Ecological Innovation in 2007.Sport & Leisure: Served as Executive Vice President of both the Yachting Association of India and the Rowing Federation of India. Author: Penned the memoir The General Called Tsunami, which recounts his four decades of military service
BY LTGEN SS DHAIYA ,COL COMMANDT BENGAL SAPPERS
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, May 29, 2026: In a proud moment for Punjab, Nisha, daughter of Punjabi University employee Dinesh Chander, has been commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in the Indian Navy.
An alumna of the Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for Girls in Mohali, Nisha passed out from the Indian Naval Academy and was commissioned during an impressive passing out parade reviewed by Sameer Saxena.
She has been inducted into the Education Branch of the Indian Navy.
Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Minister Aman Arora congratulated Sub Lieutenant Nisha on her achievement and said her success would inspire more young women from Punjab to join the armed forces.
He said the Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is committed to supporting girls aspiring to become commissioned officers in the defence services.
Director of Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for Girls, Jasbir Singh Sandhu, also congratulated Nisha and described her commissioning as a motivating achievement for aspiring women cadets across the state.
Newly-appointed Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar (L) with outgoing VCNS Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan during the Guard of Honour at South Block Lawn in New Delhi on Friday. PTI
The process of change at the top of the military hierarchy commenced on Friday with Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar assuming charge as the Vice Chief of the Navy.
The new Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, and the next Navy Chief, Vice Admiral K Swaminathan, will assume their respective appointments on Sunday. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan will take over as the new commander of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai.
Current CDS Gen Anil Chauhan and Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi are scheduled to superannuate on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In the Army, Gen Upendra Dwivedi is slated to retire as Army Chief on June 30.
Vice Admiral Kochhar, who hails from Karnal in Haryana and is the son of a former engineer with the Haryana Irrigation Department, laid a wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi after assuming office.
Vice Admiral Kochhar was at the centre of planning the Navy’s response during Operation Sindoor while serving in Mumbai. The Ministry of Defence said, “He spearheaded the Command’s response to conventional and non-traditional threats along the Western Seaboard, including high-tempo naval operations during Operation Sindoor.”
Commissioned into the Navy in July 1988, Vice Admiral Kochhar is a specialist in gunnery and missile systems.
He has commanded naval ships INS Nashak, INS Vibhuti and INS Kirpan, and was the commissioning commanding officer of the frigate INS Trikand. He also commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, during whose tenure the carrier successfully completed the integration and operationalisation of its air wing.
he Allahabad High Court recently upheld an order directing the grant of disability pension to an Indian Army personnel who was discharged from service on the grounds of hypertension, while observing that the mere fact that a disease was detected at a “peace station” cannot be a ground to deny pensionary benefits.
A division bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai dismissed a plea filed by the Union of India challenging an order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), Lucknow bench, which had granted disability pension to the soldier.
“Merely because the disease was detected at a peace station is of no consequence while determining the aspect of attributability or aggravation. Accordingly, endorsing in a routine manner that the disease was detected during peace posting is totally illegal, arbitrary and in no manner justifies the denial of disability pension to the respondent,” the bench remarked in the order dated April 29.
Justices Alok Mathur and Amitabh Kumar Rai
Also Read | Army discharged him for schizophrenia, denied disability pension; his widow wins in court after 4 decades
The bench observed that the medical board had merely stated that the disease was detected during a peace posting and failed to provide adequate reasons for denying attributability or aggravation by service.
“If the serviceman is discharged from service or denied the disability pension on the basis of a medical opinion which is devoid of reasons, it would strike at the root of the action taken by the authority and such action cannot be sustained in law,” the court noted.
The court also found that the Army officer had not applied for discharge but it was the authority itself that, after observing his condition, decided to discharge him from service.
It added that where the serviceman himself had not applied for discharge, but has been discharged by the authority, the onus of proving the disability and grounds of denying disability pension would lie heavily on the authority.
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“It can be said that the authorities have failed to discharge the burden of establishing that the employee deserved to be discharged from service on account of such illness without any benefit of pension and such action has to be considered arbitrary and liable to be interfered with,” the court remarked.
The court emphasised that the medical board ought to have taken into account important factors while considering the case for the grant of disability pension.
It added that the onus lay upon them to discuss and consider such factors and give adequate reasons before rejecting the claim for the grant of disability pension.
Finding no infirmity in the AFT’s order, the bench directed that the respondent be granted disability pension with all consequential benefits.
The Kerala High Court has reaffirmed that armed forces personnel invalided out of service due to schizophrenia are entitled to the benefit of statutory presumptions under military pension rules unless the authorities provide reasons to deny disability pension.A Division Bench comprising Justice K. Natarajan and Justice Johnson John dismissed a writ petition filed by the Union of India…
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday said future conflicts would not be limited to conventional battlefields and be fought across land, air, space , cyber, electromagnetic and cognitive domains.
Addressing cadets at the passing-out parade of the 150th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune, the Army Chief said Operation Sindoor had demonstrated India’s resolve and the armed forces’ ability to deliver a calibrated, precise and purposeful response.
This operation underlined the importance of integrated planning, real-time intelligence, precision targeting, strong air defence, secure communications and synergy across domains, he added.
Earlier, General Dwivedi reviewed the passing-out parade at the Khetarpal Parade Ground, where 355 cadets graduated and were commissioned into the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Referring to Operation Sindoor, he said, “The Army is fully conscious of the changes in warfighting. We are transforming ourselves into a future-ready force under the decade of transformation.”
his operation underlined the importance of integrated planning, real-time intelligence, precision targeting, strong air defence, secure communications and synergy across domains, he added.
Earlier, General Dwivedi reviewed the passing-out parade at the Khetarpal Parade Ground, where 355 cadets graduated and were commissioned into the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Referring to Operation Sindoor, he said, “The Army is fully conscious of the changes in warfighting. We are transforming ourselves into a future-ready force under the decade of transformation.”
The raising of Divyastha Batteries, Shaktimaan Regiments, Bharat Battalions and other technology-enabled structures was part of this transformation, he said.
On the use of drones, the Army Chief said training was now taking place at all academies. The Army’s training team at the NDA has been provided with four-six large drones and simulators.
On the use of artificial intelligence, General Dwivedi referred to the OODA cycle — Observe, Orient, Decide and Act – and said AI would help accelerate decision-making in high-velocity warfare situations.
“In today’s environment, we also have numerous drones coming. Now, you need counter-drone equipment, and you need to apply your own drones. Therefore, the resources present on the battlefield are enormous. To handle such resources, you need some kind of automation, and artificial intelligence plays a very pivotal role,” he said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday released a commemorative volume on Operation Sindoor, which documents the personal testimonies of 100 officers, sailors, and airmen who participated in the decisive military operation last year. Singh described the operation as an unprecedented success wherein India “compelled Pakistan to seek a ceasefire within four days.” “It was different from all other wars that India has fought so far. The commemorative publication goes beyond historical account and captures the personal experiences of brave soldiers. It also offers insight into the human dimension of modern warfare where leadership, courage, judgment under pressure and commitment translate strategy into success,” the defence minister said in a post on X. He also shared some photos of the release function here, which took place in the presence of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh. “The accounts span across the three Services as well as Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff and include combat aviators, naval watchkeepers, surface-to-air missile crews, special forces operators, signallers, logisticians, medical officers and the personnel of the joint and integrated organisations that knit the operation together,” the ministry said. PTI Rajnath releases volume on Op Sindoor with accounts of officers, aviators, other combatants People defeated oppn’s politics of hatred lost: CM on civic poll outcome NEW DELHI, MAY 29 We should not disappoint our youngsters, the Supreme Court on Friday said while stressing that the real problem relating to medical entrance examination NEET-UG would not stop till “actual accountability arises”. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the apex court that the government is seriously concerned about the concerns of the youths and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally supervising the situation so that “there is no lacunae”. Mehta told a
