Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, ADC
41st Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office 25 January 2020 – 31 January 2021
President	Ram Nath Kovind
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Manoj Mukund Naravane
Succeeded by	Chandi Prasad Mohanty
Personal details
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Yudh Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	June 1981 – January 2021
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	7 Jat
Commands	Southern Command IX Corps Kilo Force Rashtriya Rifles 79(I) Mountain Brigade 7 Jat

Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, ADC was the 41st Vice Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed the office on 25 January 2020.^[1][2] He previously served as General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) Southern Command.^[3][4]

Early life and education

Saini is from District Hoshiarpur in Punjab, an alumnus of Sainik School, Kapurthala, National Defence Academy, Pune; and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He has also attended the Army Command and Staff Course at Staff College, Camberley; Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham; and National Defence College, Dhaka. He has a total of three degrees in defence and strategic studies.^[5][4]

Career

Saini was commissioned into the 7th battalion, Jat Regiment in June 1981. His commands include 7 Jat, a Mountain Brigade in the Kashmir Valley, Counter Insurgency Force (Kilo) (part of the Rashtriya Rifles) and IX Corps. The general officer has also held numerous staff appointments including Brigade Major of an infantry brigade, General Staff Officer (Operations) of an infantry division, BGS of a Corps, Director of Military Operations at Army HQ; Director General, Manpower Planning and Personnel Services (MP&PS). He has held different instructor appointments including Senior Directing Staff at National Defence College, Weapons Instructor at National Security Guards Training Center and the Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was also The Colonel of the Jat Regiment.^{[6][5][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Saini has served on international deputations as well including Deputy Chief Military Personnel Officer in the Iraq- Kuwait UN Mission; Global Peace Operations Initiative's peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia; a counter-terrorism exercise in Australia.^[3]

During the 38 years of his service, he has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (2020), the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2018), the Yudh Seva Medal, the Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and the Army Commander Commendation for his service.^[13]

Honors and decorations

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 June 1981[14]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	13 June 1983[15]
	Captain	Indian Army	13 June 1986[16]
	Major	Indian Army	13 June 1992[17]
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	16 December 2004[18]
	Colonel	Indian Army	1 October 2005[19]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	13 March 2009 (seniority from 4 June 2008)[20]
	Major General	Indian Army	25 October 2013 (seniority from 4 October 2011)[21]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	21 May 2016[22]

References