Batchmates to military chiefs: With Lt Gen Manoj Pande s elevation, all 3 chiefs to be from 61st NDA batch - Lt Gen Manoj Pande has been appointed as the 29th Chief of Army Staff for the Indian Armed forces and will take over from April 30.
A cross-section of service officers said the swift appointment of a CDS would either end, or at least mitigate Delhi’s vacillation over its stand with regard to Russia over its campaign in Ukraine.
The incumbent Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Naravane, is almost certain to be elevated to the country’s top military post. So his successor needed to be finalised first.