In a surprise move, the government on Sunday extended the tenure of Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande by one month, just days before his retirement from the office.
The Army Chief was to retire on May 31, which has now been extended for a month as confirmed by the Defence Ministry after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet gave its nod.
This is the first such event in almost fifty years since the government extended the tenure of an Army Chief. The last time it was done was in April 1974 when the government extended the tenure of Army Chief Gen G G Bewoor by one year. He finally retired on May 31, 1975. In fact, Gen Bewoor's extension impacted the succession plan in the hierarchy of the military.
The move to extend the tenure of Gen Pande will upset the succession plan in the Indian Army. Lt Gen Prem Bhagat would have missed becoming the Army Chief because of the extension granted to Gen Bewoor, military analysts pointed out.
The Defence Ministry confirmed the extension in the tenure of Gen Pande by quoting Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954, which provides for such extension beyond the age of superannuation.
Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who is presently serving as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, is the senior-most officer after Gen Pande. But both Lt Gen Dwivedi and Lt Gen Ajay Kumar Singh, both course mates, are slated to retire on June 30, the day the extension of Gen Pande ends.
Government Can Still Pick Anybody as Next Army Chief With Retirements Lined Up: Though it is the prerogative of the government, it can still appoint anybody as the Army Chief. For instance, when Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria was appointed as the Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force, in September 2019, it showed such flexibility.
Lt Gen Singh gains wider acceptance for the post of Chief of the Army Staff, but Central Army Commander Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani could also be a contender if the government wanted alternatives.
Gen Pande, as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff, took over on April 30, 2022, to succeed Gen MM Naravane. Incidentally, he is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of the Army Staff, having had a distinguished career that includes commanding the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the country's only tri-service command. A graduate from the National Defence Academy, Gen Pande was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982.
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