Lt Gen General Manoj Pande takes over as India's new Army chief

Lieutenant General Manoj Pande took charge as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff on Saturday. Pande took the reins from incumbent Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane whose tenure ended today. 

Before being appointed as the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Manoj Pande was serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. Lt Gen BS Raju will be his successor. Lt Gen BS Raju will take charge as the Vice Chief of Army Staff on May 1, 2022.

Lt Gen Manoj Pande has become the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to take charge of the 1.3 million-strong force as the position has been held so far by officers from infantry, artillery and armoured regiments.

About Lt Gen Manoj Pande 

Lt Gen Manoj Pande is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy. He was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in December of 1982. 

Lt Gen Manoj Pande's military career spans over 39 years, During this time he has held several prestigious command and staff assignments in conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations in all types of terrain.

He has commanded an engineer regiment along the Line of Control during the Operation Parakram in Jammu and Kashmir, an engineer brigade in the western sector, an infantry brigade along the LoC and a mountain division in high-altitude areas of western Ladakh and a corps in the Northeast.

On February 1 of this year, Lt General Manoj Pande had taken over as the vice army chief. He had replaced Lieutenant General CP Mohanty.

Before taking charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was heading the Eastern Army Command tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors.

For his illustrious service, Lt Gen Manoj Pande has been conferred the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and the GOC-in-C Commendation. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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