He was instrumental in designing the Indian Armed Forces’ highest award for bravery, the Param Vir Chakra.
[3][4] Atal attended Sandhurst and was commissioned a second lieutenant into the Unattached List, Indian Army on 29 January 1925.
[citation needed] He became a major on 29 January 1942 and by 1943 was serving with the 47th Cavalry, a unit raised in April 1941 and later sent to Kohat as a frontier defense armored-car regiment.
He became an acting lieutenant colonel on 31 July 1944 and the commanding officer of the 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry until 13 February 1946.
[citation needed] Atal was the first indigenous Adjutant General of independent India, entrusted by Jawaharlal Nehru with the responsibility of designing (with Savitri Khanolkar) the Param Vir Chakra, the Indian equivalent of the Victoria Cross.