Air Marshal Shyam Bihari Prasad Sinha,

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 ...

, VM, ADC is a retired officer of

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 ...

who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C),

Central Air Command Central Air Command may refer to: * Central Air Command (India), one of five operational commands of the Indian Air Force * Central Air Command (Pakistan), one of five operational commands of the Pakistan Air Force *Central Air Command (Sweden), on ...

from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018. He assumed office from Air Marshal Kulwant Singh Gill and was succeeded by Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar.

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Early life and education

Sinha is an alumnus of

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 ...

, Pune and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has also taken the Operational Electronic Warfare course in France and the Executive course on Security Studies in United States.

Career

Sinha was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 15 June 1980. He has clocked over 3700 hours of flying and has experience on many different types of fighters. He held several key operational and administrative appointments at various stages of his service including the Commanding Officer of a MiG-21 Squadron; Commandant of Electronic Warfare Range; Team Leader of AWACS Project Team in Israel; Air Officer Commanding of a front line Su-30 MKI Base; Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Plans); Principal Director Plans, Principal Director C4ISR; Principal Director Acquisitions; Deputy Director of Operations (Electronic Warfare); Chief Flying Instructor of Basic Flying Training School; Air Force Examiner in Aircrew Examining Board and the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (30 April 2014 – 31 December 2015). He is a Category A Flying Instructor, Instrument Rating Instructor and Examiner. He was also the Commodore Commandant of No. 7 Squadron.

Awards and medals

During 38 years of his career, he has been awarded several medals: two Presidential medals, 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 ...

(January 2011), the

Vayu Sena Medal The Vayu Sena Medal () is a military decoration, usually awarded in peacetime for a job well done in the Indian Air Force. However, it has been granted during times of conflict for acts of gallantry in the face of enemy, though not in the same n ...

. and 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 ...

(January 2018).

Personal life

He is married to Alpana Sinha and they have a son. His brother B B P Sinha was also an Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinha, Shyam Bihari Prasad Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian Air Force air marshals Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Vayu Sena Medal Defence Services Staff College alumni National Defence Academy (India) alumni Deputy chiefs of Air Staff (India)