Jammu, Aug 24: Where discipline shapes character and young minds grow into leaders, Sainik School Nagrota has been nurturing ambition for over five decades.
From NDA cadets to generals, doctors and civil servants, Nagrota’s alumni have carried its legacy far beyond the parade ground.
Major General Ramesh Raina (retired); Maj Gen J S Bedi (retired); Maj Gen Mohinder Kumar Sagoch; former J&K Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Ganai; former J&K minister Harsh Dev Singh; former IGP (Personnel) PHQ, J&K J P Singh; former IG Security, J&K Jagjit Kumar; renowned oncologist Padma Shri Dr Ashok Vaid and senior IAS officer currently serving as Director, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Bhupinder Kumar are just a few names in a long list of distinguished professionals sharing a mutual link.
This illustrious band of individuals, who carved a niche for themselves in diverse spheres of life and earned acclaim, has a common strand – their alma mater, Sainik School Nagrota.
Famed as “Gateway to NDA” in J&K, the Institute, during its proud journey of over five decades, has evolved from armed forces’ feeder school to a holistic residential educational institution whose alumni have distinguished themselves in the Armed Forces, civil services, medicine, engineering, education, law, business and other professions.
The school itself records that a large number of its alumni are IAS and IPS officers, doctors and engineers serving in India and abroad.
The school Principal Captain (IN) Shibu Devasia, while defining the institute’s illustrious profile, asserts, “True to the spirit of its motto i.e., Gyan, Veerata Aur Anushasan (Knowledge, Courage and Discipline), for over five decades, Sainik School Nagrota has sought to transform young minds into responsible, confident and capable citizens by integrating knowledge, courage and discipline with academic education, physical fitness, leadership and character building.”
FEEDER TO ARMED FORCES
From its campus in Jammu and Kashmir, the institution has contributed more than 600 officers to the Armed Forces and has produced distinguished alumni across the diverse spectrum of life including civil administration, academia, law, business and public life.
It was inaugurated on August 22, 1970 by the then Defence Minister, late Jagjivan Ram. Its founder Principal was Cdr NN Seth.
The school was established as part of the national Sainik School movement, whose broad purpose was to provide quality residential education, inculcate discipline and leadership and create a wider and more socially representative feeder base for the Armed Forces officer cadre.
It was conceived in the same spirit as the Sainik School system – to combine academic excellence with physical fitness, character formation, discipline, leadership and preparation for entry into the Armed Forces, particularly through the NDA and other military academies.
“The uniqueness of Sainik School Nagrota lies not simply in its association with the Armed Forces. It is the combination of education, discipline, residential life, leadership development, physical training, competitive-examination preparation and national integration,” Captain Devasia points out.
He asserts that the school’s identity as the “Gateway to NDA” is well justified by its long record of producing Armed Forces officers.
The school officially records over 600 ex-Nagrotians as officers in the Armed Forces, through various commissioning routes, including the National Defence Academy (NDA), Indian Military Academy (IMA), Officers Training Academy (OTA), Air Force Academy and Indian Naval Academy.
The school’s contribution through the NDA route alone is particularly significant. Over the years, more than 300 cadets of Sainik School Nagrota have joined the National Defence Academy, making the school one of the important feeder institutions for the country’s premier tri-services officer-training academy.
In addition, approximately an equal number of Nagrotians have entered the Armed Forces through Combined Defence Services (CDS) and other direct-entry or commissioning routes.
The school’s performance, according to Captain Devasia, has remained particularly strong in recent years.
For NDA 154, 35 Nagrotians cleared the UPSC NDA written examination, 11 subsequently cleared SSB and eight joined NDA in June-July 2025. Several achieved impressive All India ranks, including Ikhlaq Hassan (AIR 50), Hussainin (AIR 145), Pranav Sharma (AIR 150), Aditya Singh (AIR 239), Prithvi Raj (AIR 268) and Divyansh (AIR 292).
Most significantly, this performance earned Sainik School Nagrota the Raksha Mantri Trophy-2025 for sending the highest percentage of cadets to NDA in NDA 154. The trophy was presented in May, 2026.
This was particularly significant because the school had last won the trophy in 2009, making the 2025 achievement a return to the top after approximately 17 years. The school won both “Best Band Contingent” and “Best Marching Contingent” at UT level Republic Day celebrations at Jammu in 2026.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
While naming a long list of celebrated professionals churned out by the institute, Principal Captain Devasia proudly states that rather than limiting the Hall of Fame to military officers, Sainik School Nagrota’s real strength is the breadth of achievements of its alumni. It ranges from Generals to doctors, from civil servants to academics, from Police leaders to entrepreneurs, lawyers, engineers and professionals working across India and overseas.
Among its illustrious alumni also include Maj Gen Ramesh Raina (retired) – a member of the first batch; Maj Gen J S Bedi (retired) who also served as Additional Director General of Recruiting; Maj Gen Mohinder Kumar Sagoch, former Director General, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence; Brigadier Dr Vijay Sagar Dheman; Dr Ashok Vaid, well known oncologist known for pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation; Brig Gurmeet Singh Shan – associated with Nagrota Ex-Students Association(NEXAS) and working as Director, Sainik Welfare, J&K; Prof Keshav Sharma of Jammu University; Prof Deepak Raj Gupta associated with the Department of Tourism and Travel Management, Central University of Jammu; V K Seghal, founder chairman of the J&K and Ladakh Tourism Promotion Council and Randheer Singh Billoria – associated with the banking, IT sector and NEXAS leadership.
Captain Devasia shares that the school’s alumni association, NEXAS (Nagrota Ex-Students’ Association), now provides an organised network for this worldwide fraternity.
Its alumni portal currently describes a network of over 4,300 alumni, with facilities for alumni networking, mentorship, career opportunities and institutional support.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE IN J&K
Principal Devasia emphasises that the school is a national institution, not merely a J&K institution. Under the current admission framework, 67 percent of seats are for home State or UT (J&K) candidates and 33 percent for candidates from other States or UTs.
The government introduced girls’ admission in the existing Sainik Schools from the academic session 2021–22. In the first year, 312 girls were admitted to Class VI across the then 33 existing Sainik Schools. Sainik School Nagrota admitted eight girl cadets in the first batch. Cadet Vamika achieved All India Rank 15 in NDA/NA written examination and Rank 2 among girls.
The present residential strength of the school is 480 cadets, including 52 girls. The girl-cadet strength can rise to 70 while the overall residential strength remains 480.
With regard to admission to Sainik School Nagrota, he informs that it is through the All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination (AISSEE) conducted by the National Testing Agency. The admission is made to Classes VI and IX.
VISION AHEAD
Sharing the possible institutional vision, Captain Devasia states that for the future, Sainik School Nagrota can position itself around six major pillars.
These include strengthening NDA, Armed Forces preparation; girls’ education and leadership; STEM and innovation; academic excellence; alumni engagement and emergence as a centre of excellence.
“Sainik School Nagrota is an institution where character is built, leadership is nurtured and service to the nation becomes a way of life,” Captain Devasia asserts, while summing up the profile of the institute.
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