General Manoj Pande took charge as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff on Saturday after incumbent Gen MM Naravane retired from service. Gen Pande is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to head the 1.3 million strong force.
Before taking charge as Vice Chief of the Army on February 1, Gen Pande was heading the Eastern Army Command, tasked with guarding the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors.
Gen Pande took charge of the Indian Army at a time when India is facing myriad security challenges, including along the LoC and LAC with Pakistan and China respectively. As the Army Chief, he will also have to coordinate with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force on the government’s plan to roll out theatre command.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982.