Air Commodore Suryakant N Bal, ex Flg Instr AFTT, NDA, CDM

Commissioned as a transport pilot on 04 June 1967, he has logged over 6200 hours on various aircraft, and held a Senior Commercial Pilots License. Commanded the Paratroopers Training School and served as Air-II at the Central and Western Air Commands respectively. Retired on 30 September 2002 as the Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Agra.

Served at the National Defence Academy as a Divisional Officer and Gliding Instructor. A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he was the Head of Department, HRD & Strategic Management at the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad. Attended the National Defence College at New Delhi.

Visited the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, and attended a programme on Civil-Military Cooperation at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA. Post-retirement served as the Dean and Director, Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune.

A PhD in Political Science, and an MPhil in Russian, he has Master’s Degrees in Management and Defence Studies. Authored a book “Central Asia; India’s Look-North Policy”. Co-authored a book for aspiring leaders titled “Commanders and Commanding” while in service.

Has contributed articles to the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, as also the Indian Defence Review. Worked with Dr Meheranjali Bade, the principle author, in compiling a Reader titled “Amazing Stories in Russian”. The Reader has been published by the National Defence Academy, and is for cadets studying Russian at the NDA. His interests are human psychology, geopolitics, military history and the history, language and culture of Russia.