P. V. Shivanand

He is an alumnus of the 73rd Course of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla^[3] and the Air Force Academy, Dundigal.^[4] He is also an alumnus of Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.^[5]

The air officer was commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on 17 December 1988 from the Air Force Academy.^[6] In a career spanning over three decades, he has over 2800 hours of flying experience on MiG-21 and the IL-76 AWACS and has held various command & staff appointments. The Air Marshal's operational tenures include being the Commanding Officer of No. 32 Squadron (Thunderbirds) at Jodhpur^[7] and later served as Commanding Officer of No. 50 Squadron (Adwitiya) at Agra.^[8] As an Air Commodore, he served as Air Attaché at the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., USA^[9] and later as the Air Officer Commanding of 14 Wing, Chabua, Assam.^[10]

As an Air Vice Marshal, he served as the Air Officer Commanding of 14 Wing, Chabua^[10] and later as the Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Air Defence at the Air Headquarters, New Delhi.^[11] After getting promoted to the rank of Air Marshal, on 1 June 2025, he assumed the appointment of Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command.^[2] On 1 July 2026, Air Marshal Shivanand took over as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command succeeding Air Marshal Tejinder Singh who moved to Integrated Defence Staff as CISC.^[1]

During his career, he has been awarded with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025^[12] and the Vayu Sena Medal in 2014.^[13]