ITI Limited announced the appointment of Lt Gen M Unnikrishnan Nair, AVSM, SM, Signal Officer-in-Chief as Government Director on the Board of the Company with effect from 16th December 2022 for a period of three years or till the date of superannuation or till further orders, whichever is earliest. Lt Gen M Unnikrishnan Nair, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, SO-in-C was commissioned into the Corps of Signals of the Indian Army on 15 December 1984. He is a graduate of the National Defence Academy, Pune and a post graduate from the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

He attended the Army Higher Command Course from the Army War College, Mhow, and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a degree in Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, and two Master of Philosophy degrees on Defence and Strategic Studies from the Indore University and the Madras University. He has vast experience in command and staff assignments, and has served all over India including two tenures in Jammu and Kashmir and four tenures in the North East India.

He has been a Col Q of an Infantry Division along the Western borders, and a Director at the Military Operations Directorate of the Indian Army. His area of specialisation includes development of information and communication technology, cyber, space, cryptology and intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance applications in Indian Armed Forces. He has been the Chief Information Security Officer of the Ministry of Defence and of the Indian Armed Forces, and has been responsible for protection of critical information infrastructure in defence domain, as part of one of his responsibilities.

He has represented the Indian Armed Forces at several meetings at National and International levels, and has been part of working groups on Cyber Security and Technology related issues. He was instrumental in raising of the Indian Defence Cyber Agency, and subsequently headed the Signal Intelligence directorate of the Indian Armed Forces. He has the rare distinction of being a Chief of Staff of an operational Corps along Indian Northern borders, besides being a Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Central Command at Lucknow.

Prior to his current assignment as the Signal Officer in Chief, he has been the Commandant of the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering at Mhow from Dec. 20 to Jun. 22.