Gen Pande takes charge as Army on cusp of change

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, April 30

Gen Manoj C Pande on Saturday took over as the Indian Army Chief after incumbent Gen MM Naravane retired from service. General Pande takes over at a time India and China are locked in a military stand-off along the LAC and the Army is in the middle of restructuring itself.

Myriad challenges

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• General Pande takes over as Army Chief at a time when India and China are locked in a stand-off along LAC
• The Army is in middle of restructuring itself to be more oriented towards LAC
• It is also adopting newer technologies to meet future challenges

General Pande is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to helm the force. He was serving as the Army Vice-Chief. Earlier, he commanded the Eastern Command. He was also Commander-in-Chief Andaman & Nicobar Command.

During his stint as the Eastern Army Commander, General Pande oversaw the induction of enhanced technological capability to keep the Army better informed of China’s intentions across the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.

General Pande was commissioned in the Bombay Sappers, a regiment of the Corps of Engineers, in December 1982. His tenure as Army Chief will last till May 31, 2024.

During Operation Parakram, launched after the terror attack on Parliament in December 2001, he was deployed at the LoC in the Pallanwala sector of J&K.