NB BUREAU
India on Monday announces the elevation of Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next chief of the Indian Army. He will assume office on May 1.
He will succeed General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who is scheduled to complete his 28 month-tenure on April 30.
General MM Naravane #COAS & All Ranks of #IndianArmy congratulate Lieutenant General Manoj Pande #VCOAS on being appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff #COAS of the #IndianArmy. Lt Gen Manoj Pande will assume the appointment of #COAS on 01 May 2022.#InStrideWithTheFuture pic.twitter.com/fiUpc29U2A
— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) April 18, 2022
According to the reports, Lt Gen Pande is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of Army Staff.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Pande was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in December 1982.
He commanded an engineer regiment during Operation Parakram in the Pallanwala sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Operation Parakram, the large-scale mobilisation of troops and weapons to the western border, followed the December 2001 terror attack on Parliament that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.