Sandeep Kahlon
Chandigarh
Summary
An Indian Army veteran (Civil Engineer) with 37+ years of experience in Combat Engineering, project management, defence procurement, with experience in fast-track acquisitions and indigenous development of mission-critical engineer equipment. A result-oriented and innovative technocrat having strong organising, man-management & administrative skills at the Regional Level. A recipient of the Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) awarded by the President of India for steering the procurement of engineering equipment for the Indian Army.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Major General
Indian Army
01.2019 - 01.2023
- General Officer Commanding Bengal Sub Area (Administrative Head)
- Rank – Major General | Kolkata | Aug 2021 to Jan 2023
- Professionally managing and optimizing facilities and resources for 20000+ troops and their families and all static military establishments in West Bengal and 07 districts of Bihar. Administrative responsibility of ensuring day-to-day functioning and facilities management of Army Base Workshop, Military Hospital, Logistics Depot, Ammunition Depot, Engineer Stores Depot, rations, supplies, housing & schooling facilities, transport fleets, movement control of rail, road, and air, execution of the infrastructure budget, planning and execution of building projects, legal matters and cases in various courts. Estate Management of prime defence land - liaising with the State Government, Civil Administration and Police at the apex level.
- Chief of Staff Madhya Bharat Area (Administrative Deputy Head)
- Responsible for managing and optimizing facilities and resources for more than a lakh soldiers and their families including housing, medical, schooling etc., within the jurisdiction of 216 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odisha. Spearheaded various national-level training establishments, national-level logistics depots, base workshops and military hospitals through COVID, ensuring Force preservation post Galwan.
- Deputy Director General Combat Engineers, Engineer-in-Chief's Branch, Army Head Quarters
Brigadier
Indian Army
Delhi
05.2016 - 04.2019
- Was responsible for conceiving and implementing the modernization roadmap for the Army Engineers. Led the end-to-end capability development, R&D, Trials and procurement of new Plant, Earthmoving & Engineering Equipment for the Indian Army ranging from Heavy Earth Moving Equipment, Tunnelling equipment, tractors, hovercrafts loaders, snow clearance equipment, autonomous vehicles, combat bridges, boats, explosives, smart land mines, mine detectors, Bomb/IED detectors, Trawls and Trawl tanks etc.
- Directed complete procurement lifecycle: AON, SQR/GSQR, RFI/RFP, field trials, TEC, CNC, contract award, induction, and MRO planning; reduced acquisition cycle times by implementing parallel workstreams and risk-based trial planning.
- Chaired/participated in Collegiate Committees, TECs, CNCs, and Contract Management Boards for high-value engineer equipment; ensured compliance with DAP/DPP, GSQRs, and DGQA quality protocols.
- Built strategic partnerships with DPSUs and private sector for bridging systems, counter-mobility equipment, and heavy lift platforms, enabling indigenization and vendor diversification.
- Led fast-track development and procurement of engineer equipment, assault bridges, mechanical mine layers, mines, mobility support systems and special military engineering platforms, delivering on compressed timelines and under stringent QA/compliance regimes from Indian and international sources under FTP and normal procurement categories.
- Managed international engagements across European and Russian OEMs for technology evaluation, price discovery, offsets and warranty/MRO terms; negotiated improved ILS and spares coverage for high-uptime deployment.
- Orchestrated multi-agency coordination with MoD Acquisition Wing, DGQA, DRDO, E-in-C’s Branch, and Finance; ensured timely compliance on integrity pacts, security clearances, and export control norms.
- Deputy Director General Combat Engineers, Engineer-in-Chief's Branch, Army Head Quarters
Brigadier
Elite Mountain Strike Force
Ranchi
01.2014 - 04.2016
- Specially chosen to raise and head a specialised engineering wing responsible to support a large offensive force in mountains in terms of rapid construction of roads, tracks, habitat and provision of water supply, electricity etc. in a time bound manner. Successfully planned, designed, procured and executed habitat & allied infra on schedule, for 10,000 troops spread across eight towns of North East India, overcoming the challenging weather conditions and frail logistics support.
Brigadier
Military Engineering Service
Bathinda
06.2012 - 01.2014
- Responsible for Controlling budget, planning, designing, tendering, execution, testing, contract management and associated legal matters for habitat & civil infra works and their maintenance for approx. one lakh troops & their families spread across eight cities of Punjab and Rajasthan. Important Works Executed - Specialist technical accommodation for missiles, warehouses, auditoriums, habitat, offices, roads, 33 & 66 KV electric power sub stations, sewage treatment plants, raw water reservoirs and treatment plants, etc. with an Annual Capital load of Rs 2054.00 crores. With strict monitoring and timely decisions improved the quality of works and completed eight ongoing projects before their due dates.
Colonel
Border Roads Organisation
Ladakh
08.2004 - 09.2006
- Headed three road construction companies, three pioneer companies, two field workshops and over 5000 labour force operating at heights up to 18,000ft in Western Ladakh. Based on performance then, the Unit was adjudged 'The Best Task Force' of BRO for the year 2005-06. Assigned responsibility of budgetary planning, forecasting, coordination and anticipation to procure, transport and stock bitumen, fuel, cement, explosives, spares etc. within seven months window prior to the closure of passes and road access to the Ladakh region. Successfully planned, constructed and maintained over 1000 km of roads and bridges; three airfields for round the year operations at Kargil, Leh and Thoise, at heights ranging from 10,000 to 18,000ft under extreme weather conditions and treacherous terrain for men and machines. Ensured timely repair & maintenance of a huge fleet of vehicles, plant & machinery with two dedicated workshops.
- Important Works Executed – Double Lanning of NH-from ZojiLa-Kargil-Leh, centrally heated hangar for three large size helicopters, aviation base, a number of strategic new roads & bridges.
Lt Colonel
Armour Division
Punjab
05.2002 - 08.2004
- As a professional logistician planned, coordinated, controlled and ensured the smooth movement and repair & recovery of 500 tanks, 400 armoured personnel carriers, over 10,000 combat vehicles and over 50 military trains, carrying rations, fuel, ammunition etc in a well-synchronised manner which was tested and proven successful during OP PARAKRAM.
Major
Indian Army
Siachen Glacier
09.1998 - 05.1999
- Headed a unit of 300 combat engineer soldiers to execute field engineering tasks which required much innovation and initiative that needed out-of-the-box solutions using limited resources in extremely hostile cold weather up to -40 deg centigrade, rarefied atmosphere at heights from 17,000 ft to 23,000 ft and under active enemy firing.
- Tasks executed were improvised aerial cableways, establishing of kerosene pipeline and pumping stations, construction of helipads, crevasse crossing bridges, habitat for troops, electrification, human waste disposal etc under the most challenging conditions for man & machine. This had a paradigm shift in the logistics and enhanced the quality of life and survivability of own troops.
- In Arunachal Pradesh at heights ranging from 7,000 ft to 15,000 ft, led a unit of combat engineers to construct operational roads, tracks, helipads, culverts, habitat, provision of water supply & electricity etc. under dangerous, hostile weather conditions with excessive rain and snow, which resulted in easier movement and better defence potential of the area.
Skills
- International procurement
- Defence acquisition: DAP/DPP, fast-track procedures (FTP), RFP/SQR drafting
- Strategic partnerships, offsets and technology transfer
- Business development
- Negotiation, contracts, and lifecycle support (MRO, spares)
- Team leadership, cross-functional governance, risk and compliance
Timeline
Major General
Indian Army
01.2019 - 01.2023
Brigadier
Indian Army
05.2016 - 04.2019
Brigadier
Elite Mountain Strike Force
01.2014 - 04.2016
Brigadier
Military Engineering Service
06.2012 - 01.2014
Colonel
Border Roads Organisation
08.2004 - 09.2006
Lt Colonel
Armour Division
05.2002 - 08.2004
Major
Indian Army
09.1998 - 05.1999