Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

Balwant Singh Negi, PVSM,

UYSM Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM; ''Great War Service Medal'') is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operational context" includes ...

, YSM, SM, VSM & Bar is a former General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Central Command of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

who served in office from 1 December 2015 till 30 September 2018. He assumed the post after Lt General Rajan Bakshi retired and was succeeded by Lt General Abhay Krishna.

Early life and education

Negi is an alumnus of

Rashtriya Indian Military College The Rashtriya Indian Military College (abbreviated RIMC; formerly known as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College) is a military school for boys and girls situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The RIMC is a feeder institution for ...

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

and

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 ...

. He has completed the senior command course at Defence Service Staff College, Wellington; command & staff course in Bangladesh; higher command course at Army War College, Mhow and command course at National Defence College, New Delhi. He also holds a double MPhil in Strategic Studies and Defence Studies); a double master's degree in Defence Studies and a PhD in Strategic Studies from Madras University where his research topic was "''China’s Modernisation and its implications''".

Career

Negi was commissioned into

Assam Regiment The Assam Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment consists of 25 battalions: 15 regular battalions, 3 Rashtriya Rifles battalions, 5 Territorial Army battalions (including 2 ecological battalions). It recruits exclusiv ...

on 16 December 1978. He has vast experience in North East India and Jammu & Kashmir. He has commanded a battalion on the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...

, a brigade in Western Command, a Counter Insurgency Force in Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand & Bihar,

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

(Leh). He has held command of many operations including

Operation Meghdoot Operation Meghdoot ( "Operation Cloud Messenger" after a famous Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa) was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict. E ...

, Operation Vijay, Operation Rakshak,

Operation Parakram Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, Operation Falcon, Operation Trident, Operations Sahayata I and II. He has also held staff appointments including He has held Colonel General Staff of an Infantry Division in Jammu & Kashmir during Operation Parakram; Commandant of the Indian Military Academy. During 40 years of his career he has been awarded

Yudh Seva Medal The Yudh Seva Medal is one of India's military decorations for distinguished service during wartime. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished service in an operational context, which includes times of war, conflict, or hostilities and may b ...

for Siachen in 1998;

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 s ...

for Jammu & Kashmir in 2002;

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 exc ...

twice for Jammu & Kashmir in 2009 and 2013;

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM; ''Great War Service Medal'') is one of India's military decorations for Wartime Distinguished Service. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished services in an operational context. "Operational context" includes ...

in 2016 and the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (IAST: ) is a military award of India. It was constituted in 1960 and since then it is awarded in recognition to peace-time service of the most exceptional order and may be awarded posthumously. All ranks of the ...

in January 2018. He has also been awarded with General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Commendation Card (twice) and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Commendation Card.

Honours and decorations

Personal life

He is an excellent sportsman with three Blues in Boxing and Gymnastics from National Defence Academy. He is also a keen equestrian track and Master of Fox Hounds for Ooty Hunt Club; has extensive trekking and motor biking experience in the Himalayas. on a 350cc Royal Enfield Motorcycle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negi, Balwant Singh Living people Indian generals Recipients of the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Indian Army personnel Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Year of birth missing (living people) Military personnel from Uttarakhand National Defence College, India alumni Commandants of Indian Military Academy Recipients of the Yudh Seva Medal Recipients of the Sena Medal Recipients of the Vishisht Seva Medal Army War College, Mhow alumni