General Upendra Dwivedi takes over as new Indian Army chief

General Upendra Dwivedi has taken over as the Indian Army’s new chief.

Following the retirement of General Manoj C Pande on Sunday (June 30), Dwivedi took charge as the new Chief of the Army Staff.

Prior to his promotion to general and the Army chief, Dwivedi was serving as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff . He had previously served as the chief of the Army’s Northern Command as well, which is responsible for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh along with India’s strategic borders with Pakistan and Ladakh.

The Union government had announced Dwivedi’s appointment to the Army’s top post on June 11.

General Manoj Pande superannuated today and handed over the command of the Indian Army to General Upendra Dwivedi who took over his new appointment today. pic.twitter.com/gAL3ABEX0X

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2024

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With Dwivedi taking over as the Army chief, in a rare stroke of coincidence, Dwivedi and the Indian Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi would become the first pair of classmates to lead their respective services. Both of them had studied in the same class at the Sainik School in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Defence Ministry Spokesperson A Bharat Bhushan Babu said, “For the first time in Indian Military history, Chiefs of Navy and Army hail from the same school. This rare honour of nurturing two prodigious students, who would go on to lead their respective Services 50 years later, goes to Sainik School, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.”

For the first time in Indian Military history, Chiefs of Navy and Army hail from the same school. This rare honour of nurturing two prodigious students, who would go on to lead their respective Services 50 years later, goes to Sainik School, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/52FMCO01qM

— Ministry of Defence, Government of India (@SpokespersonMoD) June 29, 2024

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Dwivedi was born on July 1, 1964. He was commissioned into the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles on December 15, 1984.

In his four decades of military career, Dwivedi has held commands at various levels of battalion (18 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles), brigade (26 Sector Assam Rifles), DIG of Assam Rifles (East), and 9 Corps of the Indian Army. As a lieutenant general, he served as the Director General Infantry and General Officer Commanding in Chief of Northern Command.