(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) The government on Sunday gave a one month extension to Indian army chief General Manoj Pande, who was scheduled to superannuate on May 31. He will now retire on June 30. Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi is the senior-most Indian Army official after Gen Pande.
In a statement, the Defence Ministry said:“... the Appointments Committee of Cabinet today approved the extension in service of Army Chief General Manoj Pande for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation (May 31, 2024), i.e. up to June 30, 2024.”
Appointed as the 29th chief of Army Staff on April 30, 2022, he had also served as the vice chief of over 13 lakh force. Prior to this, Pande was the Eastern Army Commander.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers). He has commanded an Engineer Regiment during Operation PARAKRAM in the sensitive Pallanwala Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control.
He is also a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command and National Defence College Courses.
In his four decades of distinguished military career, he has tenanted important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments which include command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a Mountain Division in the High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh and command of a Corps, deployed along the Line of Actual Control and in Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command.
His staff exposures include Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade in the North East, Assistant Military Secretary in Military Secretary's Branch, Colonel Q of a Mountain Division in High Altitude Area and Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at Headquarters Eastern Command.
The General Officer has served as Chief Engineer in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
He has also tenanted the appointments of Additional Director General in the Military Operations Directorate at Army Headquarters, Chief of Staff Headquarters Southern Command and Director General Discipline Ceremonial & Welfare at the Army Headquarters.
He was Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command from June 2020 to May 2021 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command from June 2021 to January 2022.
For his illustrious service, he has been conferred with the award of Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal.
The General Officer is also The Colonel Commandant, The Bombay Sappers.
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