Indian Army Chief conferred honorary rank of Nepal Army General

Recently, at a special ceremony at ‘Sheetal Niwas’, the official residence of the President in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, Indian Army Chief General Pande was conferred with the title of Honorary General of the Nepalese Army during his ongoing visit to the Himalayan nation.

Key Points

• Commander-in-Chief General KM Cariappa was the first Indian Army Chief to be awarded this title in 1950. In November last year, Nepal’s Army Chief General Prabhu Ram Sharma was also conferred with the title of Honorary General of the Indian Army by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function held in New Delhi.
• The practice follows a seven-decade-old tradition of decorating army chiefs of each other’s country with the honorary title.
• General Pande is on a four-day official visit to Nepal from 5th to 8th of this month. This is his first visit to Nepal as the Chief of Army Staff.
• On behalf of the Government of India, General Manoj Pande provided training equipment along with light vehicles to the Nepalese Army which will enhance the capabilities of the Nepalese Army personnel.

About Lieutenant General Pande

He is an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun and the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. In 1982, he was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers after passing out from the IMA.

Lt General Pande held prestigious command and staff assignments in counter-insurgency and conventional operations in all types of terrain during his 39-year military career. In the Western theatre, he has commanded an engineer brigade. He has also commanded an infantry brigade along the Line of Control (LoC), in the Ladakh sector and a corps in the North-east region of the country.

Before taking over as the army’s vice-chief, he has also served as the Eastern Army Commander. From June 2020 to May 2021, he served as the Andaman and Nicobar Command’s commander-in-chief. After General Narvane retires, he will be the senior-most officer of the Army.

Month: Current affairs - September, 2022

Category: Defence Current Affairs • Important Days & Events Current Affairs