Lt Gen Manoj Pande to be next Army chief

New Delhi: Lt Gen Manoj Pande will be the next Army chief succeeding Gen MM Naravane whose tenure ends by the end of this month, officials said on Monday.

At present, Lt Gen Pande is serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

Before taking charge as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, he was heading the Eastern Army Command tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors.

Gen Naravane’s tenure will come to an end on April 30.

Lt Gen Pande was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers in December 1982.

In his distinguished career, he has held several prestigious command and staff assignments in conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations in all types of terrain.

He commanded an engineer regiment along the Line of Control during the Operation Parakram in Jammu and Kashmir, an engineer brigade in the western sector, an infantry brigade along the LoC and a mountain division in high-altitude areas of western Ladakh and a corps in the Northeast.

He has served as chief engineer in the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He was the Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) from June 2020 to May 2021.

For his illustrious service, he has been conferred Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and the GOC-in-C Commendation.