Making history through his appointment, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande is all set to lead the Indian Army, the country's ground force, from May as the incumbent MM Naravane will be demitting the office on April 30. Pande is the first general from the Corps of Engineers unit to become the Army Chief and he has a slew of leadership breakthroughs in his kitty.  

"Government has decided to appoint Lt Gen Manoj Pande as the next Chief of Army staff", the defence ministry had announced on Monday. In a press release, the ministry said, "Government has appointed Lt Gen Manoj Pande, presently Vice Chief of the Army Staff, as the next Chief of the Army Staff with effect from the afternoon of April 30, 2022." 

As an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Pande was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in December 1982. The Indian Army Corps of Engineers unit is tasked to provide combat engineering support and develop infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organizations. The troops in this unit will also involve in aiding the civil authorities during natural disasters. Headquartered in Delhi, the Corps of Engineers serve the Army with several branches across the country. 

General Manoj Pande was attached to the Bombay Engineer Group and now he has been elevated to lead the country's premier land force. The press release further said, "During his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff, and Instructional appointments. The Command appointments of Lt Gen Manoj C Pande include Command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps and an Infantry Brigade along with Line-of-Control in Jammu & Kashmir." 

It was during this tenure that Pande had commanded an engineer regiment during the Indian Army's Operation Parakram in the Pallanwala sector along the Line of Control. Operation Parakram has come after the December 2001 terror attack on the Indian Parliament and it was the second major standoff between India and Pakistan at the borders after the Kargil War of 1999. 

"Other important Command appointments (of Manoj Pande) include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area of the Western Ladakh and Command of a Corps, deployed along the LAC and in Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command", the Defence ministry added. In the rank of Lt General, Pande has held important appointments including that of Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command from June 2020 to May 2021.

He also had served as Chief Engineer in the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Honouring his unparalleled service, Pande has been conferred with the award Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. Pande, who will celebrate his 60th birthday soon after taking charge as the Army Chief, will be serving the role for two years and with a tremendous experience serving on both the crucial fronts of LOC and LAC, Pande's role will involve leading and transforming the ground force to a new frontier amid the border tensions with both the adversary neighbours in the north. 

On the other hand, the incumbent Army Chief Major Manoj Mukund Naravane will be demitting his office on April 30 and the speculations are rife that Naravane would be appointed as the second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) replacing the late General Bipin Rawat, who died in a chopper crash last December in the Nilgiris of the Tamil Nadu district. The CDS position has been held vacant since his demise and Naravane would possibly win the elevation as the next CDS, who is the military head of the entire Indian Armed Forces. It has also been reported that the Union government has been considering appointing both serving and retired officials as the CDS.