New Delhi: Surgeon Vice Admiral Kavita Sahai, SM, VSM, officially assumed the position of Director General Medical Services (Navy). Commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on December 30, 1986, she has a distinguished career in military medicine.
An alumnus of the esteemed Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, Vice Admiral Sahai specializes in Pathology and holds a super-specialization in Oncopathology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. She has served as a Professor and Head of the Department of Laboratory Sciences at the Armed Forces Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) and Base Hospital Delhi Cantonment (BHDC), as well as a Professor in the Department of Pathology at AFMC, Pune.
Before her current appointment as DGMS (Navy), Vice Admiral Sahai made history as the first woman Commandant of the Army Medical Corps Centre and College, and Officer in Charge of Records. She is also the first female officer elected as Colonel Commandant of the Army Medical Corps. Her commitment to medical education is notable; she was awarded the prestigious Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) Fellowship in Medical Education from Philadelphia, USA, in 2013-14.
In recognition of her exemplary service, Vice Admiral Sahai received the Sena Medal in 2024 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018. She has also been commended twice by the Chief of the Army Staff (2008 and 2012) and by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, in 2010.