Colonel Pyara Lal, born in Lahore in 1916 and an Oxford-educated lawyer, is a respected figure in military academia. Commissioned into the Maratha LI in 1943, he served as the army PRO across multiple conflicts, including those in 1962, 1965, and 1971. He significantly shaped the United Service Institution (USI) over three decades as its secretary, where he introduced correspondence courses. At the National Defence College (NDC) from 1960 to 1972, he was pivotal in sourcing eminent speakers, enhancing USI-NDC relations. Colonel Lal, who passed away in service, is commemorated annually with a lecture and has a USI library named in his honour.

Colonel Pyara Lal passed away on November 23, 1987. In 1995, his brother, Shri Sardari Lal Agarwal, proposed a donation from the Col Pyara Lal Education and Welfare Trust to the USI to establish an annual memorial lecture in recognition of Col Pyara Lal's long service. The USI Council accepted the proposal on November 23, 1995, and decided to commence the lectures in 1997. An initial donation of Rs 1,10,000 was received in February 1996, followed by an additional Rs 15,000 in April 1996. The funds were invested to cover the lecture expenses through interest earned, and by December 31, 2010, the fund had grown to Rs 3,05,000. Each year, the Council selects the lecture's subject and speaker during its annual meeting, with the lectures held in September and published in the Journal.

On 22 Oct 2024,  28th  Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture, on the topic “Decade Of Transformation : Indian Army in Stride with the Future” was delivered by General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, Chief of the Army Staff at USI.