Manoj Pande (lieutenant general)

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For the civil servant, see Manoj Pande (civil servant). For the Param Vir Chakra awardee, see Manoj Kumar Pandey.

Lieutenant General
Manoj Pande
PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Gen Manoj Pande.jpg
Manoj Pande, official portrait
43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff
Assumed office
1 February 2022
PresidentRam Nath Kovind
Preceded byChandi Prasad Mohanty
Personal details
AwardsParam Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg Param Vishisht Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg Vishisht Seva Medal
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of serviceDecember 1982 – present
RankLieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant General
UnitBombay Sappers
Corps of Engineers
CommandsEastern Command
Andaman and Nicobar Command
IV Corps
8 Mountain Division
52 Infantry Brigade
117 Engineer Regiment
Service numberIC-40716F[1]

Lieutenant General Manoj Chandrashekhar Pande,[1] PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a serving General Officer in the Indian Army. He currently serves as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff since 1 February 2022. Previously, he served as the General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, having taken over on 1 June 2021. He previously commanded the Andaman and Nicobar Command as the Commander-in-Chief (CINCAN).[2]

Early life and education[]

Pande was born to Dr. C G Pande, a consulting Psychotherapist who retired as the Head of the Department of Psychology of the Nagpur University, and Prema, an announcer and host with the All India Radio. The family hails from Nagpur.[3] After his schooling, he joined the National Defence Academy (NDA). After NDA, he joined the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned as an officer.[4] He married Archana Salpekar, gold medalist from Govt Dental College and Hospital, Nagpur on 3 May 1987.

Career[]

Pande was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers, one of the regiments in the Corps of Engineers, in December 1982. He attended the Staff College, Camberley in the United Kingdom. After completing the course, he returned to India and was appointed brigade major of a mountain brigade in Northeast India.[5] After promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he served as the Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.[4]

Pande has commanded the 117 Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir. He was in command of the regiment during Operation Parakram.[6] He then attended the Army War College, Mhow and completed the Higher Command Course. After the course, he was appointed Colonel Q at HQ 8 Mountain Division.[6] He was then promoted to the rank of Brigadier and given command of an Engineer brigade as part of a Strike Corps in the western theatre.[6] He also commanded the 52 Infantry Brigade, positioned along the LOC. Pande was selected to attend the prestigious National Defence College.[4] After completing the course, he was appointed Brigadier General Staff Operations (BGS-Ops) at HQ Eastern Command.

General officer[]

After promotion to the rank of Major General, Pande took command of 8 Mountain Division which was involved in high-altitude operations in western Ladakh.[5] He then served a tenure in the Military Operations directorate at Army Headquarters as the Additional Director General (ADG).[5] Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, he served as the Chief of Staff of the Southern Command.[3] On 30 December 2018, Pande took command of the IV Corps at Tezpur from Lieutenant General Gurpal Singh Sangha.[7][8] The corps is deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in Counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.[4] After about a year-and-a half at the helm of IV Corps, he moved to Army HQ and was appointed Director General dealing with subjects of Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare.[4]

On 30 April 2020, Pande was appointed the next Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN). He assumed command on 1 June 2020 after the incumbent Lt Gen P S Rajeshwar superannuated on 31 May 2020.[9] A year later, he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command. He handed over charge of CINCAN to Lieutenant General Ajai Singh on 31 May and took command of the Eastern Command on 1 June.[10]

He has been appointed as the next Vice Chief of the Army Staff succeeding Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty on his superannuation on 31 January 2022.[2]

Honours and decorations[]

He is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal,[11] Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal.[12][13] Apart from these, he has been awarded the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Commendation Card and two GOC-in-C commendation cards.[5]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg Ati Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg
Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg IND Special Service Medal Ribbon.svg IND Operation Vijay medal.svg IND Operation Parakram medal.svg
IND Sainya Seva Medal Ribbon.svg IND High Altitude Medal Ribbon.svg IND Videsh Seva Medal Ribbon.svg IND 50th Anniversary Independence medal.svg
IND 30 Years Long Service Ribbon.svg IND 20YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg IND 9YearsServiceMedalRibbon.svg Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea Medal ribbon.png
Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vishisht Seva Medal Special Service Medal Operation Vijay Medal Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNMEE Medal

Dates of rank[]

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
Second Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Second Lieutenant Indian Army 24 December 1982[1]
Lieutenant of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant Indian Army 24 December 1984[14]
Captain of the Indian Army.svg Captain Indian Army 24 December 1987[15]
Major of the Indian Army.svg Major Indian Army 24 December 1993[16]
Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant-Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[17]
Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Colonel Indian Army 1 March 2006[18]
Brigadier of the Indian Army.svg Brigadier Indian Army 1 April 2010 (substantive, seniority from 25 January 2009)[19]
Major General of the Indian Army.svg Major General Indian Army 1 July 2015 (substantive, seniority from 12 June 2012)[20]
Lieutenant General of the Indian Army.svg Lieutenant-General Indian Army 1 September 2017[21]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 November 1984. p. 1810.
  2. ^ a b @ANI (18 January 2022). "Government of India approves the proposal for the appointment of Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Pande as the next Vice Chief of Army Staff: Sources" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b News, Nagpur. "Nagpurian appointed as Chief of Staff at Southern Command Headquarters". www.nagpurtoday.in.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Lieutenant General Manoj Pande takes over as Commander-In-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command Tomorrow;". pib.gov.in.
  5. ^ a b c d "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes over as new chief of Southern Command Pune". United News of India. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Integrated Defence Staff". www.ids.nic.in.
  7. ^ "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes charge of Gajraj Corps". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 30 December 2018.
  8. ^ Feeds, P. T. I. (30 December 2018). "Lt Gen Manoj Pande takes charge of Gajraj Corps". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com.
  9. ^ DelhiApril 30, Manjeet Singh Negi New; April 30, Manjeet Singh Negi New; Ist, Manjeet Singh Negi New. "Lt Gen Manoj Pande appointed chief of Andaman & Nicobar command at Port Blair". India Today.
  10. ^ "Lt Gen Manoj Pande relinquishes Command of Andaman & Nicobar Command". Press Information Bureau (Government of India). Press Information Bureau. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  11. ^ "HONOURS AND AWARDS : REPUBLIC DAY 2022" (PDF). PIB.
  12. ^ "h17". www.sainiksamachar.nic.in.
  13. ^ "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 31 May 1986. p. 887.
  15. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 26 November 1988. p. 1723.
  16. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 May 1994. p. 940.
  17. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 October 2005. p. 1895.
  18. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 April 2007. p. 636.
  19. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 February 2013. p. 274.
  20. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 May 2016. p. 1310.
  21. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 February 2019. p. 393.
Military offices
Preceded by Vice Chief of the Army Staff
1 February 2022 - Present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command
1 June 2021 – 31 January 2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command
1 June 2020 - 31 May 2021 		Succeeded by
Ajai Singh
Preceded by General Officer Commanding IV Corps
December 2018 - December 2019 		Succeeded by
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