Arun Sahgal is a retired Brigadier with Phd, in Strategic Studies. He is Senior Fellow at the DPG, a policy think tank focusing on international and national security, diplomacy and Track II Dialogues. He was previously the founding Director of the Office of Net Assessment, Indian Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), Head of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Simulation, United Services Institute of India, and Senior Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

His research interests comprise, regional and strategic security, medium to long term strategic assessments with focus on geopolitical and strategic assessments related to international and Asian security. He is presently focusing on developments in Indo - Pacific and issues concerning nuclear doctrine and strategic stability in Asia.

His publications include co-authored books and net assessments for the IDS, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and the Indian National Security Council (NSC), among other clients. He has been a member of the Task Force on Net Assessment and Simulation, under the NSC, and a consultant with DRDO. His recent work includes a monograph on Strategic Stability in South Asia for Sandia Laboratories, USA, "Quad Present and Future: A Geostrategic Perspective from New Delhi, A Process led Approach Towards Integrated Commands and Informatioanised Warfare with Boots on the Ground: A Concept for Defence of India in Continental Domain.

Post US withdrawal from Afghanistan he has contributed a chapter in the book "Losing Afghanistan: The Fall of Kabul and End of Western Intervention". His recent work include, "Balance of Power in the Indo - Pacific" and "The Impact of Ukraine War on Indo - Pacific Regional Dynamics".

He conducts simulation and strategic games at IDS, the Ministry of Defence, National Defence College, College of Defence Management, and other international clients. He is member of many Track 1.5 and 2 initiatives. He has authored two important studies, "CAATSA and Implications for India", for Ministry of External Affairs and India - US Defence Cooperation a Medium Term Perspective for National Security Council Secretariate. He is currently engaged in trilateral India - US - Australia Track 1.5 Dialogue on Emerging Technologies and Strategic Stability.

AVM Manu Midha, VM was commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF in Jun 1994. He has flown several types of aircraft including Mig 21 and Mig 27. The Air Officer has a total of 3413 hours of flying experience.

He is a Cat 'A' Qualified Flying Instructor and has also been an Air Force Examiner at the prestigious Aircrew Examination Board (AEB). He has done Advance Command & Staff Course from UK and completed Higher Defence Management Course from CDM. He holds the distinction of commanding a frontline Mig 21 Bison Squadron. He has tenanted various command and staff appointments in his career including command of a Base and as Air Attache in High Commission of India in Pakistan. Prior to his current appointment of Director General of Defence Space Agency, the Air Officer has commanded an IACCS node in western sector during Op Sindoor.

In recognition of his distinguished service, he has been awarded with Vayu Sena Medal (VM) in 2014.

The Air Officer is married to Mrs Meera Midha and they are blessed with two daughters.

Lt Gen Vineet Gaur, is a 1987 batch offr commissioned from IMA, Dehradun in the Corps of EME. The offr has had an exceptionally brilliant academic career. He was awarded Chancellor's Gold Medal for all round best graduating student of the University during his B.Tech (Mechanical Engg). The Gen offr also topped his M.Tech course in Reliability Engg from IIT Mumbai. He is an alumni of HDMC and the prestigious NDC.

Lt Gen Vineet Gaur has held various appts in comd and staff, imp being CO, 15 Corps Z Wksp, Director (Prod) in EME Dte, Brig EME in 33 Corps, DACIDS (PF&M) at HQ IDS, Brig MS (C) at MS Branch, IHQ of MoD (Army) and MG EME, HQ Northern Command. The Gen offr was also a Maint Offr in UNIFIL (Lebanon). His instructional appts include instr CI 'B' at MCEME, Secunderabad and DS at CDM, Secunderabad. He is presently tenanting the appt of DG CD, CD Dte, IHQ of MoD (Army) since 26 Dec 2022.

For his excellence in professional services, he has been awarded the GOC-in-C, Northern Comd CC in 2008, COAS CC in 2010 and GOC-in-C ARTRAC CC in 2012. For his distinguished service, the Gen offr has been awarded AVSM in 2023 and PVSM in 2025.

An alumnus of UP Tech University, [Name] was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers and has since built a distinguished career in India's national surveying and geospatial domain. He has served as Deputy Surveyor General (GIS Tech Center & Perspective Planning) at the Surveyor General's Office and as Director of the Uttarakhand & West UP Geodetic Data Center, Survey of India. He has led several major national projects, including serving as Project Director for the Andaman & Nicobar Large-Scale Mapping Project and the SVAMITVA programme for Uttarakhand and West UP, both executed using drone-based survey technologies. He has also chaired the Indo-Nepal Boundary Survey Committee, contributing to critical bilateral boundary management efforts.

He has completed the Long Survey Officers Course at the National Institute of Geospatial Science & Technology, the Advanced Image Analysis Course at ITC Netherlands, and holds specializations in GeoICT, Land Information Systems, and drone-based surveying. Currently, he serves as Director (Technical), assisting the ADG, Military Survey, in policy, planning, and R&D initiatives. His exemplary service has been recognized with the GOC-in-C EC Commendation twice, in 2011 and 2021.

Amandeep Singh is a serving Indian Army Officer with distinctive cross-domain expertise who has contributed in the field of Space ISR. He opted to take the unchartered route of Space ISR for military operations and attained qualifications as Degree in Law, a Degree in Air and Space Law, an MBA in Finance, and is presently pursuing his PhD in Space Economy Augmenting Military Effectiveness from LPU, Punjab. He has been trained at military and scientific institutions on varied Space domains in conjunction with the IoT. He has contributed through his articles on the specialised strategic subject in varied journals and magazines. He has also been invited as a speaker at various pan India international level seminars and at military institutions. He promotes the practical application of technology and its military effectiveness for educating, training and preparing Space Warriors for superior spatial capabilities that strengthen the Nation's way of life.

Lt Col Puja was commissioned in the Corps of Mil Int in 2006. After an unit tenure in NC and an Instr tenure at MINTSD, the offr has been posted to numerous IITs & an Int Acqn Det. The offr was part of Instr Exch Pgme at Def Int School, United Kingdom. She has done her MA in Def & Strat studies from Pune University (2011), Mphil in Def Strat studies from Punjab University (2014) and Post Graduate Cert in Geoinformatics (PGCGI) from IGNOU (2017). The offr has submitted final PhD thesis in Jul 2025 being pursued from BIT, Mesra on Geospatial Analysis of Mil Tgts in Multi scale satellite data. The offr has also presented two papers, one in the Geospatial World Forum (GWF) Hyd 2018 on Geospatial Int in Mil Ops and a Conf paper in the National Symposium on Advances in Remote sensing in Dec 2021 on Machine Learning based Mapping of Runways. Her publications include 'Enhanced Land Use and Land Cover Classification for Military Installation Monitoring: Optimizing Sentinel-2A Band selection and Machine Learning Approaches' in Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Jun 2025) and 'Runway and Airfield Associated Feature Detection from Optical and SAR Data Using Machine Learning Algorithms' (SCIE) (Sept 2025). The offr has qualified for promotion to next rank and is presently undergoing the Tech Staff Course at Pune.

Krishna Rao TVB, Esri India He has experience in Customer Success Engagement, Team Management, Technology Architect, Enterprise GIS & Solutioning Design, Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry, and GPS. His specialties include Customer Engagement, Solution Architect, Presales, and Tech Support.

Vasudeva Rao Vemana is the Senior Sales Engineer with Planet. He is responsible for working closely with the Sales team for the Asia Pacific Japan region. He provides technical expertise in driving business opportunities. Vasudeva Rao holds a Masters Degree in Computer from Osmania University. He has 25 years of experience in the Geospatial industry. He works closely with government agencies, defence organizations to deliver high-value geospatial insights that support critical decision-making.

Dr. Deb Jyoti Pal is the Senior Vice President - Business Development at GalaxEye, driving strategy and partnerships across government, defense, and commercial sectors. With over three decades in the Geospatial and Space industry, he blends scientific expertise with strategic leadership.

A Ph.D. in Remote Sensing, he began his career as a Scientist at RSAC-UP and has held senior roles at CDAC, ESRI, Rolta, and Space Imaging Middle East.

A Life Member of ISRS and ISG, Dr. Deb is recognized for advancing geospatial innovation in India.

At GalaxEye, he is shaping the company's global vision by aligning next-generation space technology with real-world needs and customer impact.

Sam Lieff obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography from The University of Lethbridge in the 2003 and a Master's Degree in Archaeology, GIS, and Remote Sensing from the University of Lethbridge School of Graduate Studies in 2006. In his 20+ year professional career, Sam has primarily held roles in Sales within the commercial Earth Observation industry: From 2005 to 2011, he worked at Iunctus Geomatics Corp. (a BlackBridge company) as Manager of Sales & Business Development; from 2011 to 2015, he served as the General Manager of BlackBridge Canada (formerly Iunctus and owners of the RapidEye constellation); in 2015 BlackBridge was acquired by Planet where Sam held the position of Director of Sales, Canada and oversaw a majority of the company's Canadian operations. In 2022, Sam joined EarthDaily Analytics as the Vice President of Sales.

Lt Col V Ramanathan has over 20 years of experience in the Indian Army. He has developed an in depth expertise in Satellite Imagery Interpretation and analysis, holding critical appointments in Imagery Intelligence domain for over a decade. He also holds the distinction of being an Instructor for the Vietnam Defence Forces. With a Master's degree in Geoinformatics, he is deeply passionate about geospatial technology, its potential for innovation, and particularly on how space start ups can contribute in solving strategic problems and strengthening the future of Bharat's national security on a global landscape.

Col Amit Mehna was commissioned into Corps of Signals of Indian Army on 07 Dec 1996. The officer has commanded a Signal Regiment in western theatre wherein he led a team of over 800 personnel in the operation of networks, optical fibre and IT engineering equipment. He was instructor at Mhow wherein he ensured team training priorities and developed quality assurance metrics to ensure warfare capability and trained over 150 junior and mid-level managers through mentoring, direct contact education and program management. He has tenanted various important staff appointments in two Command Headquarters of the Indian Army. He has also been awarded with GOC-in-C, South Western Command, Commendation Card twice in his distinguished military service and Vishist Sewa Medal for distinguished Service of highest order.

He has done B. Sc and B. Tech from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, M Tech from IIT Madras and M. Phil from Panjab University. He has attended various important Regimental courses in the Army including the prestigious Higher Command Course.

He is an astute leader with more than 28 years of experience in driving Strategic Planning, cost effectiveness of operations, program management and crisis and change management. He in his present role is heading the AI task force for AI implementation for Indian Army and implementing various AI related projects which will change the AI landscape for the Indian Army. The recently inaugurated Indian Army AI incubation centre at Bengaluru under his vision and guidance is a testament to take the big leap towards AI absorption for the Armed forces. He is a technology innovator with a keen eye to scan blue oceans for technology adoption and successfully build and implement technology models to gain first movers advantage.