New Leadership in Indian Defense: Air Marshal Hardeep Bains and Lt Gen Virendra Vats Assume Key Roles

Air Marshal Hardeep Bains has assumed the position of Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel as of October 1, as per an official statement from the Ministry of Defence. He succeeds Air Marshal SK Vidhate, who retired from the Indian Air Force (IAF) after 38 years of distinguished service.

Appointed to the fighter stream of the Flying Branch of the IAF on December 19, 1987, Air Marshal Bains is a category 'A' qualified flying instructor with over 5000 hours of accident-free flying. Throughout his career, he has held significant field and staff roles, emerging as a prominent figure in defense circles, and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2012 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2015.

Simultaneously, Lieutenant General Virendra Vats has taken over as the Director General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), succeeding Lieutenant General Gurbirpal Singh. Lt Gen Vats, with an impeccable 37-year service record, has been strategically positioned at a time when NCC is expanding its reach, aligning with the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 by integrating modern skills with its core values of character building.

(With inputs from agencies.)