In addition to his father being the head of a government school, Captain Vikram Batra was born into a family of teachers. Batra was an avid sports participant in school throughout his time there, specialising in table tennis and karate, where he held a green belt.
Batra attended Chandigarh’s DAV College where she pursued a degree in medical sciences. While a cadet at the DAV college, he enlisted in the National Cadet Corps (NCC). He was chosen as the top NCC Air Wing cadet from the Punjab Directorate, North Zone, during the interstate NCC Camp. Batra soon advanced to Senior Under Officer at his NCC unit and participated in the Republic Day Parade in 1994.
Another possibility was presented to Batra by a maritime company with its head office in Hong Kong, the merchant navy. Batra, however, declined the offer and enrolled at Panjab University in an MA English programme to prepare for the CDS exam instead.
