Manoj Pande

General Manoj Pande,[2] PVSM AVSM VSM ADC (born 6 May 1962) is an Indian Army General serving as the 29th[3] and the current Chief of the Army Staff.[4] He previously served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command and also as the Commander-in-Chief (CINCAN) of Andman and Nicobar Command.[5] He is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers and also first from non infantry/armoured corps to become the Army Chief.[1][6]

For the civil servant, see Manoj Pande (civil servant).

General
Manoj Pande
PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
Official portrait, 2022
29th Chief of the Army Staff
Assumed office
30 April 2022
President
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byManoj Mukund Naravane
43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office
1 February 2022 – 30 April 2022
Preceded byChandi Prasad Mohanty
Succeeded byB. S. Raju
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command
In office
1 June 2021 (2021-06-01) – 31 January 2022 (2022-01-31)
Chief of Army StaffManoj Mukund Naravane
Preceded byAnil Chauhan
Succeeded byRana Pratap Kalita
Personal details
Born (1962-05-06) 6 May 1962[1]
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Awards Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of serviceDecember 1982 – present
Rank General
UnitBombay Sappers
Corps of Engineers
Commands Eastern Command
Andaman and Nicobar Command
IV Corps
8 Mountain Division
52 Infantry Brigade
117 Engineer Regiment
Service numberIC-40716F[2]

As the COAS, he took over as the Honorary Colonel of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment on 11 May 2022 and as the Colonel of the Regiment of the 61st Cavalry on 17 May 2022. He became the 23rd COAS to take over Colonelcy of the mounted Cavalry Regiment.

Early life and education

Pande was born to Dr. C. G. Pande, a consulting Psychotherapist who retired as the Head of the Department of Psychology of Nagpur University, and Prema, an announcer and host with the All India Radio. The family hails from Nagpur.[7] After his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, he joined the 61st-course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) in January 1979 and was assigned to the Lima squadron, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science. After graduating from the NDA, he joined the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned as an officer. He subsequently attended the College of Military Engineering, Pune and earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering.[8]

Career

Pande was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers, one of the regiments in the Corps of Engineers, in December 1982. He attended the Staff College, Camberley in the United Kingdom. After completing the course, he returned to India and was appointed brigade major of a mountain brigade in Northeast India.[9] After promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he served as the Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.[8]

Pande has commanded the 117 Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir. He was in command of the regiment during Operation Parakram.[10] He then attended the Army War College, Mhow and completed the Higher Command Course. After the course, he was appointed Colonel Q at HQ 8 Mountain Division.[10] The division was then commanded by the Major General Dalbir Singh Suhag.[11] He was then promoted to the rank of brigadier and given command of an Engineer brigade as part of a Strike Corps in the western theatre.[10] He also commanded the 52 Infantry Brigade, positioned along the LOC. Pande was selected to attend the prestigious National Defence College.[8] After completing the course, he was appointed Brigadier General Staff Operations (BGS-Ops) at HQ Eastern Command.

General officer

After promotion to the rank of major general, Pande took command of 8 Mountain Division which was involved in high-altitude operations in western Ladakh.[9] He then served a tenure in the Military Operations directorate at Army Headquarters as the Additional Director General (ADG).[9] Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Southern Command.[7] On 30 December 2018, Pande took command of the IV Corps at Tezpur from Lieutenant General Gurpal Singh Sangha.[12][13] The corps is deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in Counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.[8] After about a year-and-a half at the helm of IV Corps, he moved to Army HQ and was appointed Director General dealing with subjects of Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare.[8]

On 30 April 2020, Pande was appointed the next Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN). He assumed command on 1 June 2020 after the incumbent Lt Gen P S Rajeshwar superannuated on 31 May 2020.[14] A year later, he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command. He handed over charge of CINCAN to Lieutenant General Ajai Singh on 31 May and took command of the Eastern Command on 1 June.[15] He was appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff succeeding Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty on his superannuation on 31 January 2022.[5]

On 18 April 2022, the Government of India appointed him as the next Chief of the Army Staff, succeeding General Manoj Mukund Naravane.[16]

On 11 May 2022, General Manoj Pande took over as the Honorary Colonel of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment. He was presented with the Baton & regimental accoutrements by Lt Gen DP Pandey.

Personal life

Pande married Archana Salpekar, a gold medalist from Government Dental College and Hospital, Nagpur on 3 May 1987. The couple have a son who is an officer in the Indian Air Force.[11]

Honours and decorations

He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal,[17] Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal.[18][19] Apart from these, he has been awarded the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Card and two GOC-in-C commendation cards.[9]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal
Special Service

Medal

 Operation Vijay Medal Operation Parakram Medal Sainya Seva Medal
High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNMEE Medal

Dates of rank
InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army24 December 1982[2]
LieutenantIndian Army24 December 1984[20]
CaptainIndian Army24 December 1987[21]
MajorIndian Army24 December 1993[22]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army16 December 2004[23]
ColonelIndian Army1 March 2006[24]
BrigadierIndian Army1 April 2010 (substantive, seniority from 25 January 2009)[25]
Major GeneralIndian Army1 July 2015 (substantive, seniority from 12 June 2012)[26]
Lieutenant-GeneralIndian Army1 September 2017[27]
General
(COAS)		Indian Army1 May 2022[28][1]

References
  1. "Government appoints Lt Gen Manoj C Pande as next Chief of Army Staff". Press Information Bureau. 18 April 2022.
  2. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 November 1984. p. 1810.
  3. "Gen Manoj Pande takes charge as 29th Army Chief". The Indian Express. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande is new army chief, succeeds Gen MM Naravane". Hindustan Times. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. @ANI (18 January 2022). "Government of India approves the proposal for the appointment of Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Pande as the next Vice Chief of Army Staff: Sources" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. "Army Chief: Lt Gen Manoj Pande becomes first engineer to be appointed as Army chief - The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  7. Today, Nagpur. "Nagpurian appointed as Chief of Staff at Southern Command Headquarters". www.nagpurtoday.in.
  8. "Lieutenant General Manoj Pande takes over as Commander-In-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command Tomorrow;". pib.gov.in.
  9. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes over as new chief of Southern Command Pune". United News of India. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  10. "Integrated Defence Staff". www.ids.nic.in.
  11. "The Sunday Profile: General Manoj Pande, the right man at the right place". The Indian Express. 8 May 2022.
  12. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes charge of Gajraj Corps". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 30 December 2018.
  13. Feeds, P. T. I. (30 December 2018). "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes charge of Gajraj Corps". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com.
  14. DelhiApril 30, Manjeet Singh Negi New; April 30, Manjeet Singh Negi New; Ist, Manjeet Singh Negi New. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande appointed chief of Andaman & Nicobar command at Port Blair". India Today.
  15. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande relinquishes Command of Andaman & Nicobar Command". Press Information Bureau (Government of India). Press Information Bureau. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  16. "Breaking: Lieutenant General Manoj Pande appointed as India's 29th Army Chief". www.dnaindia.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  17. "HONOURS AND AWARDS : REPUBLIC DAY 2022" (PDF). PIB.
  18. "h17". www.sainiksamachar.nic.in.
  19. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in.
  20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 31 May 1986. p. 887.
  21. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 26 November 1988. p. 1723.
  22. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 May 1994. p. 940.
  23. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 October 2005. p. 1895.
  24. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 April 2007. p. 636.
  25. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 February 2013. p. 274.
  26. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 May 2016. p. 1310.
  27. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 February 2019. p. 393.
  28. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 4 February 2023. p. 273.
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