General Upendra Dwivedi becomes Army Chief, Guard of Honor to General Manoj Pandey before retirement; held the post for 26 months
The tenure of outgoing Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pandey is ending today. Earlier, he was given a formal farewell. General Manoj Pandey completed a glorious tenure of 26 months and paid tribute at the National War Memorial in Delhi. Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi has been appointed as the new Army Chief and will take over today.
A formal farewell was given to Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pandey on the last day of his tenure. General Pandey paid homage at the National War Memorial in New Delhi after writing a glorious 26-month-long tenure.
While General Pandey was supposed to retire on May 30, the government extended his service by an additional month to June 30. Sources in the government said that his successor was announced after the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha election were declared on June 4.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi has been appointed the new Chief of Army Staff and will take over today.
In this regard, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, under Rule 16A (4) of the Army Rules, 1954, on May 26, 2024, approved an extension in service for Chief of Army Staff COAS General Manoj C Pandey for a period of one month from his average retirement age, with effect from May 31, 2024, up to June 30, 2024, the Defence Ministry said in a statement earlier.
What remains in the memory of many as one of the significant Contributions of General Pandey is National Security and Military Modernisation during his tenure as Army Chief. General Pandey took over as the Army Chief on 30th April 2022.
He was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (Bombay Sappers) in December 1982. Before taking over as COAS, he held the appointment of Vice Chief of Army Staff. General Pandey assumed command of the Eastern Command on June 01, 2021.
Before this appointment, he held the office of Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command CINCAN. Lt General Dwivedi has been slated to take over as the 30th Army Chief. At an earlier stage, he had served the country in various positions, such as Deputy Army Chief, Northern Army Commander, DG Infantry, and several other command appointments in the Army. In a distinguished career of over 39 years, he has held command appointments in challenging operational environments from the length to the breadth of this sub-continent. He has commanded his unit both in the Kashmir Valley and in Rajasthan. Presently, he is Sector Commander and Inspector General of AssamRifles in the intense counter-terrorism environment in the North East.
