(Dr) Air Vice Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay is the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Padmavati is the first woman to become a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Society of India and is also the first Indian woman to conduct scientific research at the North Pole. He was awarded the Padma Shri in the year 2020 for his service to the Indian Air Force and his excellent work in the field of medicine.
Padmavati Bandopadhyay was born on November 4, 1944 in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Her childhood name was Padmavati Swaminathan. He met an Air Force officer, S. N. Bandopadhyay. Dr. Padma has studied in DTEA in Humanities stream. Also he completed his graduation in Science stream from Delhi University. After this, Padmavati studied pre-medical at Kirori Mal College and in the year 1963, she took admission in Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.
Padmavati Bandopadhyay joined the Indian Air Force in the year 1968. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for his distinguished service during the India–Pakistan War of 1971. Satinath (Padma's husband) and Padma are the first IAAF couple to receive the President's Award at the same Investiture Parade. Padmavati is the first Indian woman in her career to become a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Society of India and to conduct scientific research at the North Pole.
Apart from all this, Padmavati Bandopadhyay is also the first woman armed forces officer to complete the Defense Services Staff College course in the year 1978. Padmavati was the Director General Medical Services (Air) at Air Headquarters. In 2002, she became the first woman to become an Air Vice Marshal (two-star rank) officer. Padmavati Bandopadhyay is an Air Force medical specialist and also a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Padmavati Bandopadhyay has received more than a dozen honors in the country and the world including Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Padmashree Award. Along with this, she was chosen as 'Woman of the Year' for the year 2014 by Limca Book of Records. Padmavati Bandopadhyay and her husband S. N. Bandopadhyay are the first couple in the world to receive the Vishisht Seva Medal together and on the same day.