One of the reasons often cited for joining the Indian Navy is to inculcate discipline and serve the nation. Moreover, life in the forces enables a person to face any challenge boldly. And that's something Manish Pal does very well now.

After serving in the Indian Navy for 7 years, Pal joined Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd as a Manager (Corporate IT) in 2005 and got promoted to Senior Manager in 2009.

“Post my engineering in electronics& communication from BIET Davangere, I applied for Short Service Commission (SSC) in technical cadre in the Indian Navy. In fact, I always wanted to join the Navy since my father retired as a Commodore and is a recipient of the Vishist Seva Medal(VSM). So I grew up in that environment,” says Pal.

Pal had to go through a very rigorous process to get through the Services Selection Board (SSB). “They put you through multiple tests: psychometric, leadership, personality and, of course, medical examination. While the initial selection exams lasted for five days, the medical alone took two days and, believe me, I was the only one among the 50 others who qualified after this ordeal,” he says with pride.

Pal was initially posted at the Indian Naval Academy in Goa as a Sub Lieutenant where he was trained in navigation, map reading, Morse code, arms and ammunition, man-to-man combat, physical endurance, Naval organisation, class of ships, submarines, aircraft, social etiquette,  etc. “This is where you transition into 'an officer and a gentleman',” he says.

Following six months of training at the academy, Pal was posted at INS Hamla (Logistics Training Establishment) in Mumbai. After that he spent some time in Kochi, where he went through another rigorous training on leadership and behavioral studies and then, at Lonavla, he trained in nuclear, chemical and biological warfare and combat-level fire-fighting. “One of the toughest tasks for me was study, since one needs to study a lot, besides remaining fit,” remarks Pal. He also got to do scuba diving and para gliding.

After his training, Pal joined as a trainee electrical officer in Vizag at a frigate named Kora. Subsequently, he was posted at the naval dockyard in Mumbai. The challenges here included multi-skilling and multi-tasking. “I was involved in a lot of project management, as I had to manage the maintenance routines and scheduling of ships and submarines. I was also involved in IT procurement for the Navy,” he recalls.

Pal says that every bit of his Navy experience has been helpful in his present job at M&M. “It has made me a very competitive, task-oriented individual without depending on others,” he boasts, but not without merit.

In fact, Pal also competed his MBA in Information Management from JBIMS while he was in the Navy. After his seven-year commission in the Navy, he retired as Lt. Commander in 2005. He also cleared his CISA exam. That was when M&M was looking for someone to implement and manage the company's information security system and his Navy experience came in handy.

In the year 2011, Pal won the NEXT100 Award from IT Next; the rest, as they have begun to say, is an even brighter future.