The Appointments Committee of Cabinet on Sunday approved the extension in service of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj C Pande for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation (May 31, 2024) upto June 30, 2024.
The move was taken under Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954. Manoj Pande was due to retire on May 31 on turning 62 years of age. He took charge as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff on April 30, 2022. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Pande was commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers).
He held the appointment of Vice Chief of the Army Staff before taking over as the COAS. He became the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to take charge of the 1.3 million-strong force as the position has been held so far by officers from infantry, artillery and armoured regiments.
The extension of General 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 the first such instance.
