Major General BK Sharma (Retd) is a distinguished Infantry veteran (approved for the rank of Lt Gen in the Command and Staff Stream), strategic analyst, and national security expert with extensive operational, diplomatic, and academic experience spanning over four decades. He served as the Director General of the United Service Institution of India (USI) from 2020 to 2025—India’s oldest and most prestigious national security Institution, founded in 1870.
He has been conferred three national awards by the President of India for exceptional courage and distinguished service to the nation. In recognition of his contribution to nation-building, he was also awarded a National Award by the Confederation of Educational Excellence of India (2017). An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Higher Command Course, and the National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi, Maj Gen Sharma has also undergone international peacekeeping training in Santiago, Chile.
His career includes a wide range of command, instructional, and senior staff appointments, including service at the Ministry of Defence. Internationally, he has Represented India as a UN Military Observer in Central America Served as India’s Defence Attaché in Central Asia Commanded formation as a General Officer Commanding (GOC), and served as Senior Faculty at the NDC, New Delhi. He specialises in Strategic Net Assessment, Scenario Building, Strategic Gaming, Red Teaming, and Multi-Domain Warfare, and is widely regarded as a leading voice on emerging security challenges.
Maj Gen Sharma has participated in and spoken at numerous high-level international forums, including those organised by the United Nations, OSCE, SIPRI (Sweden), CIISS (China), Valdai Club, Primakov Dialogue, SCO, BRICS, Eurasian Economic Forum, Moscow Economic Forum, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Roscongress, CAMCA, Oxford India Forum, Royal Higher Institute of Defence (Belgium), Ankara Institute (Turkey) and several others across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
In India, he is a regular speaker at the NDC, War Colleges, LBSNAA, SSIFS, NPA, leading policy think tanks, and universities. He actively participates in Track 1.5 strategic dialogues and contributes to national and international strategic discourse. A prolific editor and author, he has edited multiple books and written seminal papers published in prominent Indian and international journals and platforms.
