Lt Gen. Vinod Khandare (Retd) is the Principal Advisor to the Ministry of Defence. He served as the Military Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat under the Prime Minister's Office from 2018 to 2021. Prior to this, he held the positions of Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff for Intelligence from 2015 to 2018. With a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades in the Indian Army, Lt Gen. Khandare has extensive experience in intelligence, strategic planning, and national security.