Lieutenant General Manoj Pande appointed as next Indian Army chief
The Defence Ministry on Monday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) of India. He is set to replace General Manoj Mukund Naravane who is scheduled to retire at the end of this month. To note, Pande currently holds the post of the Vice Chief of the Army Staff. Here are more details.
Pande to assume office on May 1
Lieutenant General Pande will reportedly assume office on May 1, taking over the reins from General Naravane. Naravane, who had taken charge as the CoAS back on December 31, 2019, is set to retire on April 30. With a nearly 40-year-long military career, Pande is reportedly the senior-most officer in the Army after Naravane and has therefore been named as his successor.
Pande will be first engineer to hold CoAS post
Notably, Pande will be the 28th Chief of the Army Staff and the first-ever officer from the Indian Army Corps of Engineers to hold this top military position. The National Defence Academy (NDA) alumnus was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in 1982. To recall, he took over as the Army's Vice Chief in February 2022, succeeding Lieutenant General CP Mohanty.
He commanded an engineer regiment during Operation Parakram
Pande earlier served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army's Eastern Command and Andaman and Nicobar Command's Commander-in-Chief. Notably, Pande led the 117 Engineer Regiment during the 2001-02 Operation Parakram along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir. He had commanded another engineer regiment under Strike Corps, a Mountain Division for high-altitude operations (Ladakh), and an Infantry Brigade at the LoC, among others.
Pande also served as Director General at Army HQ
In 2018, Pande took charge of the IV Corps that deployed at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and also involved in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast. Later, he also served as the Director General at Army Headquarters. Prior to that, he was posted as the Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea as well.
Meanwhile, Naravane frontrunner for post of CDS
While the Centre named Pande as the next CoAS, the appointment of the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces is yet to be made. To recall, the position has been vacant since the demise of General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash in December. According to reports, Naravane is the frontrunner for this top job.
