Lt Gen Manoj Pandey has been appointed as the next Indian Army Chief. He will be the 29th Army Chief and the first engineer to hold the top military post.
Manoj Pandey General Manoj Mukund will replace Naravane who is scheduled to complete his 28-month term on April 30. Pandey is the senior most after Naravane.
“The government has decided to appoint Lt Gen Manoj Pandey as the next Chief of Army Staff,” the Defense Ministry announced on Monday.
Manoj Chandrashekhar Pandey He was a serving General Officer in the Indian Army. He was serving as the Chief of the Army Staff from 1 February 2022.
Pandey became the senior-most in the last three months after some top officials retired. Current Lt Gen Raj Shukla, who was heading the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), retired on March 31.
Previously, he served as General Officer-Commanding-in-ChiefEastern Command, took over on 1 June 2021. He previously commanded the Andaman and Nicobar Command as Commander-in-Chief (CINCAN) from June 2020 to May 2021.
An alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Lt Gen Pandey was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers in December 1982. In his distinguished career, he has carried out many prestigious command and staff assignments in conventional as well as counter insurgency operations in all types of terrain.
Lt Gen Manoj Pandey commanded an Engineer Regiment during Operation Parakram in Pallanwala Sector along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Operation Parakram, the massive mobilization of troops and weapons along the western border, followed the December 2001 terror attack on Parliament that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
He has served as Chief Engineer in United Nations Missions in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
He has been awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Chief of Army Staff Commendation and twice GOC-in-C Commendation for his distinguished service to the nation.