General Upendra Dwivedi takes charge as 30th Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande retires

An ace infantry officer with vast experience in operations, General Upendra Dwivedi, took over the command of the Indian Army on June 30. General Dwivedi is an accomplished military leader, with 40 years of service in the Armed Forces.  

The 30th Chief of the Indian Army belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and was Vice Chief of Army Staff from February this year. 

An alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa (MP), he was commissioned into Regiment of Jammu & Kashmir Rifles in 1984. The General officer has a unique distinction of balanced command as well as staff exposure across Northern, Eastern and Western theatres, in varied operational environment. 

General Dwivedi commanded his battalion in active counter-terrorism operations in the Kashmir Valley and in the Rajasthan desert. He has been Inspector General Assam Rifles as Major General and Sector Commander as Brigadier. Assam Rifles participated in intense counterterrorism operations and held various other staff command appointments in the North East, where he pioneered the first ever compendium on Indo-Myanmar border management. 

Subsequently, he commanded the Rising Star Corps along the Western Front and the prestigious Northern Army from 2022-2024 in an extremely challenging operational environment. During his command, he provided strategic guidance & Operational oversight for planning and execution of sustained operations along the Northern & Western borders, besides orchestrating the dynamic counter terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. 

He was also involved in modernising and equipping of the largest Command of the Indian Army, where he steered the induction of Indigenous equipment as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Being a tech enthusiast, he worked towards enhancing the tech threshold of all ranks in Northern Command and pushed for critical and emerging technologies like big data analytics, AI, Quantum and blockchain-based solutions. 

General Dwivedi hails from Madhya Pradesh and has studied in Sainik School Rewa (MP). He joined the prestigious National Defence Academy in January 1981 and was commissioned into the 18th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles on December 15, 1984, which he later commanded in the Kashmir valley and the deserts of Rajasthan. 

He is married to Sunita Dwivedi, a science graduate, who is a homemaker. Sunita Dwivedi has been associated with Aarushi, an institute for special ability children in Bhopal. The couple are blessed with two daughters who are working with NGOs. 

(With inputs from agencies)