Gen Manoj Pande takes charge as Army chief

• Gen Manoj Pande took charge as the 29th chief of the Army Staff on April 30 after incumbent Gen M.M. Naravane retired from service.

• Gen Pande, who was serving as the vice chief, became the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to helm the 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 Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh sectors.

• As the Army chief, he will also have to coordinate with the Navy and the Indian Air Force on the government’s plan to roll out theatre commands.

******************************

Lt Gen B.S. Raju to be new Vice Chief of Army

• Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1.

• A qualified helicopter pilot, Lt Gen Raju is currently serving as the Director General Military Operations and oversaw the Army’s overall operational readiness in eastern Ladakh.

• An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the JAT Regiment on December 15, 1984.

• In his illustrious career spanning 38 years, he had commanded his battalion during ‘Operation Parakram’ in the Western theatre and in Jammu & Kashmir.

• Lt Gen Raju holds the distinction of commanding the Uri brigade along the Line of Control, a counter-insurgency force and at the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps. The officer also served as the commandant of the Indian military training team in Bhutan.

• The officer also served in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments in the Army headquarters and in field formations.

• The general officer is a qualified helicopter pilot having carried out operational flying in Somalia, as part of UNOSOM II (UN peacekeeping and humanitarian missions II).

• For his illustrious contribution to the service, he has been awarded Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store