Manoj Pande

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General
Manoj Pande
PVSM AVSM VSM ADC
Official portrait, 2022
29th Chief of the Army Staff
In office
30 April 2022 – 30 June 2024
President
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byManoj Mukund Naravane
Succeeded byUpendra Dwivedi
43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office
1 February 2022 – 30 April 2022
Chief of Army StaffManoj Mukund Naravane
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
Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN)
In office
1 June 2020 – 31 May 2021
Preceded byPodali Shankar Rajeshwar
Succeeded byAjai Singh
Personal details
Born (1962-05-06) 6 May 1962 (age 62)[1]
Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
SpouseArchana Pande
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service24 December 1982 – 30 June 2024
Rank General
UnitBombay Sappers
Corps of Engineers
267 Engineer Regiment
Commands Eastern Command
Andaman and Nicobar Command
IV Corps
8 Mountain Division
52 Infantry Brigade
117 Engineer Regiment
Service numberIC-40716F[2]
Awards

General Manoj Pande, PVSM AVSM VSM ADC (born 6 May 1962) is a retired four star general officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff.[3][4][5] He previously served as 43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff,[6] prior to that he was General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command[7] and also as the Commander-in-Chief (CINCAN) of Andaman and Nicobar Command.[8] He also served as General Officer Commanding IV Corps,[9] before assuming the appointment as commander of Gajraj Corps (IV Corps) he was serving as the Chief of Staff, Southern Command.[10] He is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Army Chief.[11]

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 Colonel of the mounted Cavalry Regiment.

Early life and education

Gen 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.[12] 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.[13]

Career

Gen Pande was commissioned into the (267 Engineer Regiment) 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.[14] After promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he served as the Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.[13]

He 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.[15] 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.[15] The division was then commanded by the Major General Dalbir Singh Suhag.[16] 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.[15] He also commanded the 52 Infantry Brigade, positioned along the LOC. He was selected to attend the prestigious National Defence College.[13] After completing the course, he was appointed Brigadier General Staff Operations (BGS-Ops) at HQ Eastern Command.

On promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff, Southern Command.[10] A year later he was appointed as General Officer Commanding IV Corps.[9] On 1 June 2020, Gen Pande assumed the appointment of Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command.[8] On 1 June 2021, he took over as the General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command succeeding Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan.[7]

On 1 February 2022, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande took over as the 43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff succeeding Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty, when the latter superannuated from service on 31 January 2022.[6]

Chief of the Army Staff

On 18 April 2022, the Government of India appointed Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next Chief of the Army Staff.[5] On 30 April 2022, he took over as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff succeeding General Manoj Mukund Naravane.[4]

He was granted an extension for a period of one month till 30 June 2024 when he was due to retire on 30 May 2024. While no formal reason was given, it was speculated that the selection of his successor was delayed due to the 2024 general elections in India whose results were to be declared on 4 June.[17] General Upendra Dwivedi was appointed as his successor on 11 June 2024 and he took over on 30 June.[18]

He superannuated from service on 30 June 2024 and relinquished the appointment of Chief of Army Staff after an illustrious tenure of 26 months.[19]

Personal life

Gen Pande married Mrs. Archana Pande, 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.[16]

Honours and decorations

He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal,[20] Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal.[21][22] Apart from these, he has been awarded the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Card and two GOC-in-C commendation cards.[14]

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

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
Second Lieutenant Indian Army 24 December 1982[2]
Lieutenant Indian Army 24 December 1984[23]
Captain Indian Army 24 December 1987[24]
Major Indian Army 24 December 1993[25]
Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[26]
Colonel Indian Army 1 March 2006[27]
Brigadier Indian Army 1 April 2010 (substantive, seniority from 25 January 2009)[28]
Major General Indian Army 1 July 2015 (substantive, seniority from 12 June 2012)[29]
Lieutenant-General Indian Army 1 September 2017[30]
General
(COAS)		 Indian Army 1 May 2022[31][1][32]

References

  1. ^ a b "Government appoints Lt Gen Manoj C Pande as next Chief of Army Staff". Press Information Bureau. 18 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 November 1984. p. 1810.
  3. ^ Bureau, ABP News (30 June 2024). "Outgoing Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande Receives Guard Of Honour On Last Day In Office: Watch". news.abplive.com. Retrieved 30 June 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b Bureau, The Hindu (30 April 2022). "Gen. Manoj Pande takes charge as 29th Army Chief". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 May 2024. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ a b "Government appoints Lt Gen Manoj C Pande as next Chief of Army Staff" (PDF). pib.gov.in. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b PTI (1 February 2022). "Lt Gen Manoj Pande assumes charge as Vice Chief of Army Staff". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Lt Gen Manoj Pande to take charge as Eastern Command chief on June 1". India Today. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Lt Gen Manoj Pande has been appointed as the next chief of Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes charge of Gajraj Corps". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 30 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes over as new chief of Southern Command Pune". Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Today, Nagpur (2 September 2017). "Nagpurian appointed as Chief of Staff at Southern Command Headquarters". www.nagpurtoday.in.
  13. ^ a b c "Lieutenant General Manoj Pande takes over as Commander-In-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command Tomorrow;". pib.gov.in.
  14. ^ a b "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes over as new chief of Southern Command Pune". United News of India. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Integrated Defence Staff". www.ids.nic.in.
  16. ^ a b "The Sunday Profile: General Manoj Pande, the right man at the right place". The Indian Express. 8 May 2022.
  17. ^ "The strange case of the army chief's one month extension". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  18. ^ "General Upendra Dwivedi takes charge as the 30th Army chief". The Times of India. 30 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  19. ^ "On the day of relinquishing the appointment of Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande COAS, laid a wreath at the hallowed precincts of the National War Memorial to honour the sacrifice and valour of the Bravehearts". X (formerly twitter). 30 June 2024.
  20. ^ "HONOURS AND AWARDS : REPUBLIC DAY 2022" (PDF). PIB.
  21. ^ "h17". www.sainiksamachar.nic.in.
  22. ^ "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in.
  23. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 31 May 1986. p. 887.
  24. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 26 November 1988. p. 1723.
  25. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 May 1994. p. 940.
  26. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 October 2005. p. 1895.
  27. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 April 2007. p. 636.
  28. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 February 2013. p. 274.
  29. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 May 2016. p. 1310.
  30. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 February 2019. p. 393.
  31. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 4 February 2023. p. 273.
  32. ^ "General Upendra Dwivedi takes charge as the 30th Army chief". The Times of India. 30 June 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the Army Staff
30 April 2022 – 30 June 2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice Chief of the Army Staff
1 February 2022 – 30 April 2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command
1 June 2021 – 31 January 2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command
1 June 2020 – 31 May 2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by General Officer Commanding IV Corps
December 2018 - December 2019 		Succeeded by
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