Early career After graduation, he was admitted to the
National Defence Academy (NDA). Speaking of his career choices, he would later say that he had wanted to join the
Indian Navy but was instead drafted into the
Indian Air Force (IAF). During the selections, he was told that his eyesight was not good enough for the Navy, while the Air Force had a shortage of cadets at the time.
Indo-Soviet space program After the war, Malhotra was selected for the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at
Edwards Air Force Base in California and later to the Indo-Soviet space program, a joint program between India and the former USSR. During this time, he took tests at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, in Bangalore and later in Moscow. The final tests resulted in Malhotra,
Rakesh Sharma, and two other cadets being selected to train for spaceflight in the
Soviet Union's
Intercosmos program in 1982. The decision to have Sharma go to space and Malhotra remain on the ground was taken by the
Ministry of Defence in India halfway through the training program. Speaking later about the decision, Malhotra said, "I was disappointed, but you accept it, and move on with the mission". He remained on good terms with Sharma after the mission. After returning from the Soviet Union, Malhotra was awarded the Soviet
Order of Friendship of Peoples in 1984 and
Kirti Chakra in 1985.
Later career Upon his return to India, he was posted as the
commanding officer of the
Hindan Air Force Station near the Indian capital of Delhi. He took an early retirement from the Air Force in 1995. Malhotra entered the private sector, setting up an aerospace manufacturing firm,
Dynamatic Aerospace. The
NSE-listed company manufactures precision parts, with clients including
Boeing,
Airbus, and
Bell helicopters. He retired from the company at the age of 75. == Personal life ==