Army: The government on Sunday took a unique step and gave a one-month extension to Army Chief General Manoj Pande!

General Manoj Pande: Amid the Lok Sabha elections, the government on Sunday took a unique step and gave a one-month extension to Army Chief General Manoj Pande. Now he will remain in this post till June 30. General Pande was to retire on May 31.

But now speculations have also started as to who will become the next Army Chief of India after General Pandey. Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, who is currently serving as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, is the senior officer after General Pandey.

After Lieutenant General Dwivedi, the senior officer is Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh, who is the Southern Army Commander. Both Army officers, Lieutenant General Dwivedi and Lieutenant General Singh, are course classmates. Lieutenant General Dwivedi has a lot of experience with the borders with China and Pakistan. He replaced Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar in February and took charge as Deputy Army Chief.

The first example of the extension came in 1970

The first such instance came nearly five decades before Gen Pandey's extension, in the early 1970s, when the then Indira Gandhi government extended the tenure of (then) Army Chief Gen GG Bewoor by one year.

According to military experts, given the extension given to General Bewoor, the then Lieutenant General Prem Bhagat retired without becoming the Army Chief, whereas he was to be in this top position after him (General Bewoor).

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has granted a one-month extension to Army Chief General Manoj C Pandey, under Rule 16A (4) of the Army Rules, 1954, beyond his retirement date (May 31) till June 30," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Who is General Pandey?

General Pandey took over as the 29th Chief of the Army on 30 April 2022 after the retirement of General MM Naravane. Before the Army Chief, General Pandey was serving as the Deputy Chief. He is the first officer from the 'Corps of Engineers' to lead the force. General Pandey has also served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman-Nicobar Command, India's only tri-service command. He is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy. General Pandey joined the 'Corps of Engineers' (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982.