Lieutenant General Manoj Pande aka Manoj Chandrashekhar Pande is the chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command, who is appointed as the next Army Vice-Chief in January 2022
Wiki/Biography
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande hails from Nagpur. After completing his schooling, he joined National Defence Academy (NDA). During his career, he went to Staff College, Camberley (UK) for higher studies. He then did a higher Command course at Army War College, Mhow (India) and National Defence College, India.
Eastern Commander Lt. General Manoj Pande (Front Right) visited MISA Camp
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande is the son of Dr C G Pande, Consulting Physiotherapist and retired Head of the Department of Psychology, Nagpur University. His mother, Prema Pande, was a popular announcer and host at All India Radio. General officer’s younger brother Ketan and his wife are in Brunie and his youngest brother Sanket also served Indian Army and retired as a Colonel.
Wife
General tied the knot with Archana Salpeka, a gold medalist from Govt. Dental College and Hospital, on 3 May 1987 in Nagpur.
Career
In his prolific career, he held many crucial staff assignments in both conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations that too in almost all types of terrain. In December 1982, he was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers), where after some time, he commanded a 117 Engineers Regiment during Operation Parakram in Indian-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he was posted as the Chief Engineer at the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. After completing the higher command course at Army War College, he was appointed Colonel Q at HQ 8 Mountain Division. He was then promoted to Brigadier rank and commanded the 474th Engineering Brigade as a part of a Strike Corps in Zirakpur (Western Command). At the same rank, he also commanded the 52 Infantry Brigade, positioned along the LOC. After completing the course at National Defence College at New Delhi, he served as Brigadier General Staff Operations at HQ Eastern Command. After being promoted to Major General rank, he commanded the coveted 8 Mountain Division, also referred to as the ‘Forever in Operations’ division headquartered in Khumbathang. Posted on the same rank, he served at Army Headquarters as the Additional Director General Military Operations (ADGMO) assisting the DGMO and all formations in operational planning. He then stepped onto the rank of Lieutenant General, where he initially served as the Chief of Staff at Southern Command and was then appointed as the General commanding officer of Gajraj Corps (Eastern Command). As the commanding officer, he was the first Corps of Engineers officer to hold this post.
Qatar Armed Forces delegation visits Chief of Staff, Lt. General at Southern Command HQ
Lt Gen Pande takes over the command of Gajraj Corps
Another feather was added to his cap, when he was appointed as the 15th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN), replacing Lt Gen Podali Shankar Rajeshwar.
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN) arrived at ENC, Visakhapatnam
After a year, he passed on the command of CINCAN to Lieutenant General Ajai Singh on 31 May and Lt. Pande was appointed as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command on June 2, 2021.
Lt Gen Manoj Pande taking charge of Eastern Command
Recently, the government has announced the appointment of Lt. Manoj Pande as the next Army Vice-Chief, succeeding Lt-General CP Mohanty, who is slated to retire on January 31.
Significant Ranks Held in the Indian Army
- Second Lieutenant (24 December 1982)
- Lieutenant (24 December 1984)
- Captain (24 December 1987)
- Lieutenant Colonel (16 December 2004)
- Brigadier (1 April 2010, executed seniority from 25 January 2009)
- Major General (1 July 2015, executed seniority from 12 June 2012)
- Lieutenant General (1 September 2017)
Medals
- High Altitude Service Medal
- 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
- 30 Years Long Service Medal
- 20 Years Long Service Medal
- 9 Years Long Service Medal
Facts/Trivia
- Having an engineering background, Lt. Manoj Pande’s appointment as the commander of the 8 Mountain Division is evidence of his extraordinary capabilities since this seat had usually been occupied by conventional fighting arms officers who are more comfortable in high-altitude operations.
- Many times, Lt. General Manoj Pande is wrongly understood as the Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, a martyr of the Kargil War 1999
- The rank of Vice Army Chief is the second-highest official rank in the Indian Army. After the death of Chief of Army, Bipin Rawat, the appointment of Lt. Pande as Vice Chief of Army is considered a step forward for the appointment of the next Army Chief.
- Lt Gen Manoj Pande, inaugurated the Bijoya Sanskritik Mahotsav at Rabindra Sadan to mark 50 years of Bangladesh’s Liberation War. Lt. General said in an interview,
This is the first film festival hosted by the army in Calcutta. We have lined up several programmes throughout the year to mark the occasion.”
#SwarnimVijayVarsh #IndianArmy
To commemorate 50 glorious years of Indian Armed Forces victory #LtGenManojPande #ArmycdrEC and War Veterans laid wreath to honour the #Bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice for the Nation.@adgpi@SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/2jBe9SvzGz— EasternCommand_IA (@easterncomd) December 16, 2021
- During Lt. General’s posting on LAC, when an interviewer asked him about the increase in Chinese PLA exercise along LAC, he said that the Indian armed forces are ready and surveillance had been increased. He added,
There has been some increase in the activities but in the depth areas. The force has a robust mechanism, SOP protocols because of which we are able to resolve such situation as and when they arise.”