Air Marshal P. K. Desai

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

AVSM Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime ...

VSM (born November 12, 1944) is a retired officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

(IAF). He served in the IAF from 1966 to 2004. Desai was Air Officer Commanding of Air Force Station Chakeri in

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

, and additionally served as Senior Maintenance Staff Officer of Maintenance Command in

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

and as Assistant Chief of Air Staff Engineering at Air Headquarters in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Scientific contribution

Desai worked on research and development aspects of indigenisation of the IAF. He was chair of Aeronautical Society of India (

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

). He also served on scientific committees at CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) and Indian Society of Non-Destructive Testing (ISNDT).

Works

• Ripudaman Singh and P. K. Desai. Metallic Birds: The Life Beyond. India Defense Review. Vol 12 (1). Editor: Major General Afsir Karim AVSM (retd.). ISBN 81-7062-275-1. • P. K. Desai and C. Mohanty. Pragmatic Approach to Indigenisation: Case Studies of Airborne Items. Aerospace Manufacturing Technology. Editors: N. K. Naik, Kanchan Biswas, G. C. Popli. • P. K. Desai. Life Extension of Aircraft Components, An IAF Perspective.

Diplomatic service

Desai served as Deputy Air Attache at Indian Embassy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Later, he was part of several Indian delegations to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and completed defense contracts successfully. He was a member of Indian delegation to Russia led by the then Defense Minister

George Fernandes George Mathew Fernandes (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian politician, trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the Minister of Defence (India), Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. A veteran socialist, h ...

in 2002.

Honours and decorations

The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

conferred on Desai

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

(PVSM),

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime D ...

(AVSM) and

Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM, ) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize ex ...

(VSM).

Post-retirement

Desai is the President of Air Force Association of Gujarat headquartered in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

since retirement from the IAF. The association looks after the welfare of retired Air Force personnel and is also involved in community service. Desai has helped establish ''Navin Desai Residential School'' near

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

in memory of his brother. The school provides free education to children of migrant quarry workers.

References

{{reflist Indian Air Force air marshals 1944 births Defence Services Staff College alumni Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Living people