Colonel Lalit Rai, Vir Chakra, is an alumnus of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, Bangalore. Commissioned into the elite Eleven Gorkha Rifles in 1977, the colonel has been in operations in the jungles and rugged mountains of East and North, in the Deserts of the West and in the plains of Punjab.

Col Lalit Rai, VrC, has held many prestigious command and staff appointments in his illustrious career span of 30 years. He was posted as an instructor at the National Defence Academy Khadakvasla and at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. He is a postgraduate from the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad and from the prestigious Naval Postgraduate School, California, USA. He has since taken premature retirement from the army and joined Emcure Pharmaceuticals as its Vice President and Head HRD.

He commanded the brave Maratha troops during his command of the elite battalion 17 Rashtriya Rifles, in the militant infested Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. Combating insurgency and militants with exemplary courage, Col Lalit Rai, Vir Chakra, earned wide acclaim and a large number of gallantry awards for his battalion.

In June 1999, Col Lalit Rai, VrC, took over the command of the elite 1/11 Gorkha Rifles in Operation Vijay. He led the ‘First’ into one of the fiercest battles of the Kargil war, on the formidable heights of Khalubar, in the Batalik sector, at altitudes of over 18000 feet. Despite grave bullet and splinter injuries on his legs and bleeding profusely, the brave Commanding Officer led his men from the front to success. The ‘First’ under his dynamic command, fought with sheer grit and raw courage and achieved victory after victory. For his conspicuous bravery of an exceptional order and inspirational leadership, the President of India awarded the Vir Chakra to Col Lalit Rai. The Battalion under his command covered itself in glory by capturing as many as 11 formidable enemy positions and turned the tide of the battle in the Batalik sector. The battalion besides bagging a large number of gallantry awards, was also awarded the highly coveted Chief of Army Staff, Unit Citation and conferred the title of the ‘Bravest of the Brave’, by the Chief, for its sterling successes during OP Vijay.

Col. Lalit has bagged the Dr Kirtilal M Bhansali Memorial award for excellence in oration. A national level sportsman in football and athletics, he has undertaken major mountaineering expeditions to Kanchanjunga South, Kabru Dome and Rathong Peak in the Himalayas.

Col. Lalit Rai, VrC passed out of Cottons in 1971.