Jassar S.M. is a highly accomplished officer, with over two decades of distinguished service in the Indian Army, specialising in infrastructure development, programme management and strategic planning. His extensive experience includes leading diverse teams in challenging environments from counterinsurgency operations to combat engineering in specialised floating bridge units. His career took a shift to the infrastructure development segment, first with the Border Roads Organisation and then, in multiple roles with projects of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard across the country.
Currently, he is on deputation as chief engineer, Cochin Port Authority, under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. The Cochin Port Authority, has signed an MoU with the Lakshadweep administration, based on which the port authority will develop eight major and 10 minor jetties in western islands.
He recalls that the assignment involving double laning of the highway connecting Srinagar and Leh has been particularly memorable. The primary challenge was the stretch from Drass to Leh, which remained disconnected from the rest of India for nearly six months every year, due to heavy winter snowfall and road closures.
According to Jassar, the future of the infrastructure sector is expected to rely highly on automation and distribution of work in modules. With the growth of artificial intelligence and computational power, it is much easier to modularise work and distribute it to locations with cheaper raw materials and manpower and then integrate at the final destination.
He has a strong background in the structural design and execution of technical and marine infrastructure projects, honed over more than 10 years. He describes his leadership style as democratic, acknowledging that it is comparatively more challenging to practise. However, he believes that when team members voluntarily take up tasks, they are more likely to execute them with greater quality and a stronger sense of responsibility.
He has completed his master’s in Technology in Ocean Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras and bachelor’s in Technology in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode. He thinks that family is the most important in a person’s life. He primarily devotes his spare time to reading, with a special interest in biographies and history.