On Tuesday, Lt Gen Manoj Pande took over as the Vice Chief of the Indian Army. His appointment as the Vice Chief of the Indian army comes after Lt Gen CP Mohanty superannuated last month.
More about the new Vice Chief
Commissioned in December 1982, to the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers), he is an alumnus of National Defence Academy.
As the General Officer he commanded an Engineer Regiment during Operation Parakram in the sensitive Pallanwala Sector along the Line of Control (LOC) of Jammu and Kashmir.
A graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom), the new Vice Chief has attended the Higher Command (HC) and National Defence College (NDC) Courses.
He has so far completed 39 years in service and has tenanted important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments. He has commanded an Engineer Brigade of Strike Corps in the Western Theatre; Infantry Brigade along LOC in J&K; commanded Mountain Division in the High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh; a Corps in the North East; he has also commanded India’s only Tri-service command — Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN) and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command.
Next Army Chief
He is now in line to be the next Chief of the Indian Army when the present Chief Gen MM Naravane retires in April this year. And when he becomes Army Chief, he will be creating history of sorts, as never before there has been a chief from the Corps of Engineers.
His other positions
– Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the North East
– Assistant Military Secretary (AMS) in Military Secretary’s Branch
– Colonel Q of a Mountain Division in High Altitude Area
– He has been Brigade General Staff (Operations) and was at Headquarters of Eastern Command
– Gen Pande has also served as Chief Engineer in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
– Tenanted the appointments of Additional Director General (ADGMO-B) within the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters
– Chief of Staff at Headquarters Southern Command
– Director General Discipline Ceremonial & Welfare at the Army Headquarters.
Various awards
He has been awarded PVSM, AVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C Commendation twice and the Chief of Army Staff Commendation.
About Lt Gen CP Mohanty
On January 31, 2022, he superannuated from the Indian army after completing four decades of an illustrious career.