Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Pratik Sharma,

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 ...

, SM is a serving

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. He is currently serving as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy), prior to that he was Director General of Military Operations at IHQ of MoD (Army). He earlier served as the General Officer Commanding II corps.

Early life and education

The general officer is an alumnus of Uttar Pradesh Sainik School, Lucknow. He then attended the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

, Khadakwasla and the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. He is also an alumnus of the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

, Wellington,

College of Defence Management The College of Defence Management (CDM) is an Indian defence service training institution imparting management training to defence servants. CDM is entrusted with the responsibility of instilling contemporary management thoughts, concepts a ...

, Secunderabad and the National Defence College,

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 ...

Military career

He was commissioned into the 2nd battalion of the

Madras Regiment The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s as a unit of the East India Company, British East India Company. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with the British Indian Army and the po ...

on 19 December 1987 from the

. In a distinguished career spanning over 37 years he has served across vivid terrains and has undertaken many staff and instructional appointments. He has taken part in various operations in home and abroad, which includes UNOCI. On getting promoted to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

, he commanded 80 Infantry Brigade in

Jammu and kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. As a Major General, he was appointed as

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

25 Infantry Division and also served in the Military Secretary's branch at the IHQ of MoD, New Delhi. After being promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, he was appointed as the Director General Information Warfare at the newly institutionalized Information Directorate at the Army Headquarters, New Delhi. On 21 March 2022, he took over as the

Kharga Corps (II Corps) from

N. S. Raja Subramani Lieutenant General N. S. Raja Subramani, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the 47th Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He was previously tenanting the appointment of General Officer Command ...

. A year later on 1 July 2023, he assumed the appointment of Director General of Military Operations. After completing his term as the DGMO, on 1 November 2024

Pratik Sharma took over as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy). On 1 May 2024,

Pratik Sharma took over as the General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command, he assumed the post upon superannuation of

M. V. Suchindra Kumar Lieutenant general (India), Lieutenant General M. V. Suchindra Kumar, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Yudh Seva Medal, YSM**, Vishisht Seva Medal, VSM is a retired general officer of the Indian Army. He last serv ...

Awards and decorations

The General officer has been awarded with the

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 ...

in 2025, the

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 ...

in 2021 and the

Sena Medal The Sena Medal () is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for ...

Dates of rank

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Pratik Living people Indian generals Indian Army officers Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Sena Medal National Defence Academy (India) alumni Year of birth missing (living people)