The Cost of Serving the President: What ADCs Give Up

Serving as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to the President of India is a coveted posting, but it comes with personal costs that are rarely discussed. Major Rishabh Singh Sambyal (retired), who served as an ADC to President Droupadi Murmu for about three years, has described some of those costs in a podcast conversation.

Major Sambyal, a former Special Forces officer who retired last month after 12 years in the Army, said the biggest sacrifice was the restriction on marriage. "I am not married. So there is a clause for the ADCs that they can't get married… they have to stay away from the family, and I think this is the biggest sacrifice," he said. He added that while serving as an ADC, "I can't go out as a normal human being and enjoy life."

Asked whether the role felt lonely, he said he had learned to embrace it. "Yes, I do get lonely, but I turn that loneliness into a positive thing," he replied.

Major Sambyal trained at the Indian Military Academy before joining the Jat Regiment, and later served with the 4 Para Special Forces before becoming ADC to the President.

He described liaising with people across the country as a particularly challenging part of the job. During the President's official tours, she has at least three engagements a day, and every moment from the time she steps out of her car until she returns to it must be planned. "We don't want ruckus when the President is sitting on the dais. We don't want people to start slogans against something," he said.

He also admitted that his training and role had made him wary of strangers. Asked whether people try to bribe an ADC, he said that when unknown people try to befriend them, "we also know there is something fishy." He noted that ADCs are young and could be seen as easy to manipulate, but that the selection process filters out such risks. "Personally, I see everyone with distrust. Until I get that confidence and trust, I always have that one day; the person who is sitting in front of me will backstab me," he said.

The President has five ADCs in total — three from the Army and one each from the Navy and the Air Force. The no-marriage rule is a voluntary requirement that officers are aware of at the time of appointment, and some selected officers have opted out. The rule, which applies to all genders, is intended to ensure that the officer serving the First Citizen can focus on the job round the clock.

Last year, Lieutenant Commander Yashaswi Solankee of the Indian Navy became the first woman officer in 75 years to be appointed ADC to the President. Earlier this year, Major Navya Shekhawat became the first woman Army officer to hold the post. President Murmu currently has two women ADCs and three men ADCs.

An ADC acts as the bridge between the President and the world, planning appointments, attending ceremonies and facilitating communication with government and military branches. ADCs live in a duty room next to the President and are on call at all times, with shifts running from 9 am to 9 am the next day.

The push to appoint women as ADCs is understood to have come from President Murmu herself, reflecting her emphasis on women's empowerment, gender parity and inclusivity.

Lieutenant Commander Solankee, who was posted as Senior Inspector at Naval Armament (Defence Production) in Hyderabad when selected, said she had never dreamed of the role. "I am a technical officer and initially, my knowledge was quite siloed. But now, I need to be updated at all times," she said, adding that every word and action matters because whatever is conveyed to the President is something she lives by.