Born on 5th Dec 1940, General S Padmanabhan was commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery on 13th Dec 1959. He served as Instructor Gunnery at School of Artillery , Deolali and attended the Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington in 1973. He commanded an Independent Light Battery from Aug 1975 to Jul 1976, and then commanded a Mountain Regiment from Sep 1977 to Mar 1980. He served as Colonel General Staff of a Mountain Division from Jan 1983 to May 1985 and was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal.

The General Officer commanded an Independent Artillery Brigade and a Mountain Brigade before attending the prestigious NDC course at Delhi . He commanded an Infantry Brigade from Dec 1988 to Feb 1991 at Ranchi and Punjab and then was appointed as General Officer Commanding of an Infantry Division in Punjab from Mar 1991 to Aug 1992. He served as Chief of Staff, 3 Corps from Sep 1992 to Jun 1993 and commanded 15 Corps from Jul 1993 to Feb 1995 where he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). He held the appointment of Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) after the successful culmination of which he took over the challenging command of the Northern Army followed by Southern Army before assuming command of the Indian Army on 1st Oct 2000.

The General Officer is a prolific writer and has authored two books titled ‘The Writing on the Wall, India Checkmates America-2017’ and ‘A General Speaks’. The General presently resides in Chennai.