Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, CNS, and the Promise of Sainik School Bijapur

Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and the Promise of Sainik School Bijapur : In the Reflected Glory of an Ajeet: 

Today, as the nation welcomes our fellow Ajeet, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as the new Chief of the Naval Staff of India, a profound sense of pride sweeps across thousands of us who proudly call ourselves "Ajeets" — the alumni of Sainik School Bijapur.

For India, this is the appointment of a distinguished naval officer as the Chief of the Naval Staff at a time of immense strategic importance in the Indian Ocean and beyond. For Sainik School Bijapur, and its alumni, however, it is profoundly more special. It is history created for our school.

For the first time since the founding of our school in a make shift venue in the premises of the Vijaya College in Bijapur in 1963 that an Ajeet has risen to become the Chief of one of India's Armed Forces.

That single achievement carries within it decades of dreams, discipline, sacrifice and nation-building.

Our school has produced an extraordinary galaxy of military leaders over the years – besides other Ajeets, who have excelled in their own respective areas of professional career. We have seen our alumni rise to become Lieutenant Generals, Vice Admirals, Air Vice Marshals and commanders of some of the most prestigious institutions of the Armed Forces. Our own class buddy of 1977 batch, and a dear friend, Vice Admiral Srikant, went on to become the Commandant of the National Defence College, one of India's foremost institutions of strategic learning. Incidentally, he visited the Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai in this official capacity – on our invitation – for opening of a new facility.

Yet, despite this remarkable legacy, we the Ajeets had never before witnessed one of our own reach the very apex of military leadership.

Today that glass ceiling has been broken and hopefully will be the beginning of more to come in the years ahead.

Admiral Krishna Swaminathan's journey itself embodies the vision with which Sainik Schools were established in India. Born into a family of educators and joining the Sainik School Bijapur in 1977 as a young cadet at age 10, he represents the transformative power of an institution that was conceived to identify talent from ordinary Indian families and provide them with extraordinary opportunities to serve the nation. Admiral Krishna, has often acknowledged that the values, discipline and character forged in Sainik School Bijapur laid the foundation for his remarkable career. In fact, he had recently visited the school to motivate young cadets.

Commissioned into the Indian Navy in 1987, Admiral Swaminathan befittingly earned an exceptional career, spanning nearly four decades. A specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare, he commanded some of the Navy's most important fighting platforms, including INS Vidyut, INS Vinash, INS Kulish, INS Mysore and the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. He has also held several critical leadership appointments including Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Personnel, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command. He is a also the recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.

Yet what makes this moment particularly special for many of us who know him is not merely the impressive list of appointments or decorations.

It is his humility.

In an age where achievement often comes wrapped in self-promotion, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan remains remarkably humble and grounded. Despite reaching the highest levels of military leadership, he has never hesitated to acknowledge the role of his school, teachers and institutions in shaping him. Every interaction with him leaves one struck not by rank, but by the warmth and his humility.

I have personally experienced that generosity on several occasions.

When he served in Mumbai as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, I had the privilege of hosting some of his distinguished guests at the CSMVS museum. On another memorable occasion, my wife and I had the honour of being invited as his guests at a naval commissioning ceremony of INS Kaundinya, a cherished memory that remains close to our hearts. I also vividly remember meeting him in his office, where despite the weight of responsibility he carried, he received me with extraordinary warmth and grace. The treasured memento he presented during one such meeting remains one of my most cherished possessions.

What I remember even more than these moments, however, is the effortless dignity with which he interacts with people, his fellow Ajeets and his junior colleagues in Navy. There was never any need to remind anyone of his rank; his character spoke far more eloquently than his high rank and uniform.

As I join fellow Ajeets, naval veterans, serving officers and citizens across the country in wishing Admiral Krishna Swaminathan every success in his new responsibility, I must confess that today I too wish to unapologetically bask in a little reflected glory of his achievement which all Ajeets are basking on and talking about in most school group chats.

 Not merely because he is an Ajeet.

 Not merely because he is the first Chief from our school.

 But because his journey validates an idea.

 The idea that inspired the creation of Sainik Schools.

 The idea that talent exists everywhere in India, in the hinterland of the country.

 The idea that leadership can emerge from ordinary homes.

The idea that institutions built on discipline, merit and service to the nation can transform lives and strengthen nations.

 Today, one of those young boys who entered Sainik School Bijapur in 1977 has become the Chief of the Indian Navy.

And through his achievement, he has reminded every young student sitting in a Sainik School classroom anywhere in India or those young boys aspiring to join Sainik Schools, that no dream is too distant.

Congratulations, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and wish you all the very best.

Congratulations, Sainik School Bijapur.

And congratulations to every Ajeet who feels a little taller today.

Today, as I bask in the glory of Admiral Swaminathan’s achievement, permit me to share my blog on Sainik School Bijapur and also two other blog tributes which I pad to our class buddies.

 – Lt Col Ajit Bhandarkar Shaurya Chakra who made supreme sacrifice in service of our motherland.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2019/10/lt-col-ajit-bhandarkar-25-rr-to-brave.html

Vice Admiral Srikant, who most unfortunately passed away during Covid times.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/12/eulogy-for-our-school-buddy-and-jewel.html

 Blog on Sainik School Bijapur, and our batch Ajeets, a badge that we all wear with immense pride. A school that helped Ordinary Families Produce Extraordinary Leaders for the Nation.

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/02/sainik-school-bijapur-nostalgic.html

 Ajeet Hain Abheet Hain

Jai Hind

Images: Video grab pictures courtesy DD and Wikipedia 

 

 

Sony’s Ace Robot, “Machined to Think” and India’s IR4.0 Moment

 

Sony’s Ace Robot, “Machined to Think” and India’s IR4.0 Moment:

Time to Embrace AI with Policy Vision.

The news of Sony AI's Zürich team, led by Peter Dürr, publishing their research paper in Nature (22^nd April 2026) under the title “Outplaying elite table tennis players with an autonomous robot” has hogged global headlines, including in Free Press Journal, which featured it on front page in its Sunday edition, 26 April. Sony’s Table Tennis playing Robot, called the Ace, is the first robot to attain expert-level performance in a competitive physical sport, “one that requires rapid ‌decisions and precision execution by employing high-speed perception, AI-based control and a state-of-the-art robotic system”.

In official matches judged by the Japanese Table Tennis Association, Ace won three out of five matches against top university players and held its own against professionals. Experts call it a “ChatGPT moment” for physical AI - the moment machines entered the realm of split-second reflexes and high-precision interaction, once thought uniquely human.

Ace robot’s breakthrough, coming just after Dr. T.B. Yuvaraja, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, performing the remote surgery from India (7April 2026), while the patient was stationed hundreds of miles away, reminds me of an exhibition “Machined to Think” at Mumbai’s Nehru Science Centre (NSC), an exhibition which we opened in May, 2018. The surgery performed by Dr Yuvaraja was India’s first-ever cross-border remote robotic surgery, which resulted in the successful robotic kidney removal on a 55-year-old patient in Muscat, Oman, diagnosed with cancer. 

At the Nehru Science Centre, the Machined to Think exhibition which we had developed presented robots, AI, and automation not as distant science fiction but as evolving realities that would augment human capability. Today, I see a sense of nostalgia when we see Ace robot and remote robotic surgery making news. 

The NSC exhibition, inaugurated by Dr Anil Kakodkar on 9 May 2018, included aspects of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) - Internet of Things, 3d printing, digital world, robotics, virtual reality, synthetic biology etc. It featured immersive experiences: visitors transported via Virtual Reality to the Antarctic among polar bears and penguins, brainwave-controlled drones, robots, augmented reality, and more. These were early windows into disruptive technologies that Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum popularised as the Fourth Industrial Revolution – IR4.0

India which missed the first three Industrial Revolutions can ill afford to miss the IR4.0. As a science communicator, I have long argued that we must not shy away from technological change but embrace it responsibly harvesting its societal benefits. Indian history offers powerful proof. In the 1970s and 80s, the introduction of computers in banks faced fierce resistance; unions feared job losses and observed “anti-computerisation” periods. Today, the same banking community would strike if anyone tried to remove computerised systems. Digital banking, ATMs, and UPI have transformed finance into an efficient, inclusive service.

The JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile) provides an even stronger recent example. Powered by this digital infrastructure, Direct Benefit Transfer has transformed social deliveries - plugging leakages, eliminating ghost accounts, and removing intermediaries - benefiting hundreds of millions, especially women and rural households, proving technology can be a great enabler when deployed thoughtfully.

Sony’s Ace signals a deeper shift: AI is now conquering high-precision, reflex-driven domains — manufacturing, logistics, healthcare assistance, and precision services. This augurs well for India which has a significant exposure particularly in IT and IT enabled services including skilled AI talent whose demand is growing rapidly in hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and many other cities across India. India must prepare itself in proactively embracing this new norm of AI.

The world has seen technological disruptions before. Sony itself revolutionised personal music with the Walkman, only to be disrupted by Apple’s iPod. Nokia and Motorola dominated mobiles until the iPhone redefined the industry. Kodak invented the digital camera yet clung to film rolls and printed photos, filing for bankruptcy in 2012. The lesson is clear: technologies we create can disrupt the industries that birthed them. Resistance leads to irrelevance.

In 2003, while publishing an article on BT Cotton: Prospects and Concerns, I quoted Prince Charles’s reservations on BT technology alongside a paraphrase from Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels: science and technology deserve support when they help “grow two kernels of corn or two blades of grass where only one grew before.” This spirit should guide our approach to AI - judging it by its capacity to multiply productivity in healthcare, agriculture, education, and climate solutions.

India, with nearly 60 per cent of its population in rural areas dependent on agriculture, stands to gain immensely from IR4.0, which offers opportunities for accelerated productivity, better service delivery, and human-machine collaboration, provided we prepare.

The path forward demands proactive policy leadership. India’s planners and government must immediately recognise that AI will permeate every field. A robust national response is essential, including a comprehensive AI legislation framework that balances innovation with safeguards on data privacy, algorithmic bias, accountability, deepfakes, and misuse. India would need a National Skilling and Reskilling Mission, which can scale up training programmes to equip the workforce with AI-complementary skills - creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and AI oversight - while providing targeted transition support for vulnerable segments.

Simultaneously, we will need sector-specific guidelines and institutions that can strengthen bodies like an AI Safety Institute and sector regulators for healthcare, manufacturing, education, and agriculture to set ethical standards and monitor high-risk applications. We will need governance with principles of transparency, fairness, and public welfare so that AI and its applications augment rather than displace human potential, especially in employment-intensive sectors.

In conclusion, technology is not to be feared but harnessed for the welfare of people. Policymakers must act decisively - frame forward-looking regulations, investing in human capital, and fostering responsible innovation - so that India leads rather than reacts. Those who shy away risk the Kodak fate. Let us instead choose to grow more “blades of grass,” creating an ecosystem where “machined to think” technologies serve society, jobs evolve, and every citizen thrives.

Images : Courtesy Nehru Science Centre, Wikipaedia, Kokilaben Ambani Hospital and Sony