General Upendra Dwivedi takes charge as 30th Indian Army Chief
General Upendra Dwivedi took over as the new Chief of the Indian Army on Sunday. He succeeded General Manoj Pande, who took charge in May 2022. Prior to this role, he served as Vice Chief of Army Staff. Born in Madhya Pradesh and an alumnus of Sainik School Rewa and the National Defence Academy, General Dwivedi is the 30th person to hold this prestigious position.
General Dwivedi's distinguished military career
Commissioned into the 18th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in December 1984, Dwivedi later commanded this battalion in the Kashmir valley and Rajasthan. He has a balanced exposure across Northern, Western and Eastern Theatres, including Deserts, High Altitude, Riverine, Built Up area, North East and Jammu and Kashmir. As Major General, he served as Inspector General Assam Rifles and Sector commander as Brigadier.
General Pande hands over command to General Dwivedi
General Dwivedi's contributions to modernizing Indian Army
During his tenure with the Northern Army, General Dwivedi played a pivotal role in modernizing and equipping the largest Command of the Indian Army. He spearheaded the induction of Indigenous equipment as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat. As DG Infantry, he expedited capital procurement cases of weapons for all three services. He has worked toward enhancing the tech threshold of all ranks in Northern Command and advocated for critical and emerging technologies like big data analytics, AI, Quantum and blockchain-based solutions.
General Dwivedi's academic achievements and personal life
Complementing his military career, General Dwivedi holds an M.Phil. in Defence & Management Studies, two Master's degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Science, including one from USAWC, USA. He has also authored/presented articles in various professional forums/journals. On the personal front, he is married to Sunita Dwivedi, a science graduate and homemaker who is associated with Aarushi, an institute for special ability children in Bhopal. They have two daughters working with NGOs.
General Dwivedi's overseas tenures and contributions
Overseas, General Dwivedi's assignments include serving in Somalia as part of HQ UNOSOM II and in Seychelles as Military Advisor to the Government of Seychelles. His tenure with Assam Rifles involved intense counterterrorism operations and various staff command appointments in the North East. He also pioneered the first ever compendium on Indo-Myanmar border management, contributing significantly to border security strategies.
