Modi 3.0 first critical ... yet 'safe move' : Junks Supersession rumours .... names Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi as next Army chief

Lt General Upendra Dwivedi will take over as the Chief of the Army Staff from General Manoj C Pande on June 30.

Lt General Dwivedi, who has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, is currently the Vice Chief of the Army Staff and will take charge on the afternoon of June 30, the day General Pande demits office. 

Born in 1964, Lt General Dwivedi was commissioned into the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, an infantry regiment of the Indian Army on 15th December, 1984. In his 40 years of service, he has held a wide variety of roles. His Command appointments include Command of Regiment (18 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles), Brigade (26 Sector Assam Rifles), DIG, Assam Rifles (East) and 9 Corps, a government release said on Tuesday. 

The government had sprung a surprise when the Appointments Committee of Cabinet on May 26 approved the extension in service of Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj C Pande for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation (May 31), i.e. up to June 30, under Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954.  

The extension to Gen Pande comes nearly five decades after the then Indira Gandhi-led government extended the tenure of Army Chief Gen G G Bewoor by one year in early 1970s in first such instance.

But there may be more to it than that met the eye. There are already whispering that Centre may 'supersede' the present Vice Chief of the Army Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi.  

Hence, No. 3 -- that is Southern Army commander Lt Gen. A K Singh (Ajai Kumar Singh) based at Pune at present had a chance (basically rumour mongering) could be named the next Chief of Army Staff only after election results and the new cabinet takes charge after the swearing in of the new ministry.  

Lt. Gen. Singh, from the Gorkha Rifles, hails from Dehradun, Uttarakhand.  

Gen Bipin Rawat, also from Uttarakhand, had made it to the top post by superceeding two senor officers -- Praveen Bakshi (Eastern Army Commander) and P M Hariz (Southern Army Commander) -- to become Army Chief.   

As Lt General, Mr Dwivedi has held important posts, including those of Director General Infantry and General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Northern Command from 2022 to 2024, before being appointed the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

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Having studied at the Sainik School Rewa, National Defence College and US Army War College, Lt General Upendra Dwivedi has also undergone courses at the DSSC Wellington and Army War College, Mhow. He was conferred 'Distinguished Fellow' in the coveted NDC equivalent course at the US Army War College in Carlisle.

The officer has an M Phil in Defence And Management Studies and two Master's Degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Science. He has also been decorated with three GOC-in-C Commendation Cards.  

Sources say Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh is 'junior' to the present vice chief  Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi only technically as both are from the same batch.

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