General Upendra Dwivedi becomes Army Chief, Guard of Honor to General Manoj Pandey before retirement; held the post for 26 months

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.