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 ...

Vinod G. Khandare,

PVSM 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 ...

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 Dis ...

, SM is a former officer 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- ...

and is currently serving as the Principal Adviser in the Ministry of Defence. He retired from active military service on 31 January 2018 and was the Military Advisor to the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

Secretariat of India at the Secretary level from 2018 to 2021. In his final active military appointment, he served as both the Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency and the Deputy Chief of

Integrated Defence Staff The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is an organisation responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritisation across the different branches of the Indian Armed Forces. It is composed of representatives from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, ...

for Intelligence from November 2015 to January 2018.

Military career

Khandare was commissioned into 14 Garhwal Rifles of the Indian Army as a part of the SS-28 course of the

Officers Training Academy The Officers Training Academy (OTA) is a training establishment of the Indian Army that trains officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC). The 49-week course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Me ...

, Chennai in September 1979. As an officer of the Infantry, he was involved in operational tasks in various sectors of Siachen, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim as well as the North East region. Khandare commanded a Brigade with an operational role on the North-Eastern Border of India. He served in Kashmir Valley in 2010-11 as Deputy GOC of Counter Insurgency Force in North Kashmir. He has served as instructor on weapons at

Infantry School A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

and as Directing Staff at

Defence Services Staff College , motto_lang = sa , mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom'' , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali) , type = Defence Service Training Institute , affiliation = , endowment = , administrative_staff = , faculty = , presi ...

, Wellington. His final appointment was as Director General Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), India from 2015 to 2018.

Post-Military career

Khandare was appointed as the Military Advisor to the

Secretariat of India in October 2018. He succeeded Lt. General Prakash Menon, who was the Military Advisor from 2011 to 2014. The position remained vacant since then till Khandare was appointed in 2018, making him the second Military Advisor in the history of the NSCS. The Military Wing of the NSCS was revived as a part of his appointment. In September 2021, Khandare led an Indian Defence Delegation to Nigeria with the aim of enhancing defence cooperation avenues with Nigerian Defence Establishments. The delegation included members of the NSCS, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, the three Armed Forces as well as defence industry representatives.

Honours and decorations

* UN Medal -

ONUSAL ONUCA and ONUSAL were two United Nations peacekeeping missions deployed in Central America during the late 1980s and early 1990s. ONUCA The United Nations Security Council formally created ONUCA ("United Nations Observer Group in Central Ameri ...

- 1993 *

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 ...

(Gallantry) - Republic Day - 2002 * Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card - Army Day - 2012 *

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 Dis ...

- Republic Day - 2015 *

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 ...

- Republic Day - 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khandare, Vinod Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian Army officers People from Chhindwara University of Madras alumni Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Recipients of the Sena Medal Academic staff of the Defence Services Staff College