NEW DELHI: Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi has been appointed as the new Chief of Army Staff and will be taking over his appointment on June 30. He would be succeeding Gen Manoj Pande who is set to retire on June 30. As the 30th Army Chief, Lt Gen Dwivedi will be taking over after serving the country as Vice Chief of Army Staff, Northern Army Commander, DG Infantry and many other command appointments in the force. A strong supporter of the infusion of new technology in operations, Lt Gen Dwivedi has extensive experience in operations on both the China border as well as along the boundary with Pakistan.
Who is Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi?
An alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa (MP), Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi was commissioned into 18 JAMMU & KASHMIR RIFLES in 1984, a unit he later commanded. The General Officer has had a unique distinction of balanced exposure to both Northern and Western Theatres.
During his illustrious career spanning over 39 years, he has held command appointments in challenging operational environments, spanning the length and breadth of the country. He commanded his unit in Kashmir Valley as well as in Rajasthan. He has been Sector Commander and Inspector General of Assam Rifles in an intense Counter Terrorism environment in the North East.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi commanded the Rising Star Corps with an operational role along the Western Borders. He later commanded the prestigious Northern Army from 2022-24 in an extremely challenging operational environment along both northern and western borders. During his command, he provided Strategic guidance & Operational oversight for the planning and execution of sustained operations along the northern and western borders, besides orchestrating the dynamic Counter-Terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. During this period, the General Officer was actively engaged in the ongoing negotiations with China in resolving the vexed border issue. He was also involved in modernisation and equipping of the largest Army Command of the Indian Army, where he steered the induction of indigenous equipment as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
He synergised with the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for convergent Nation-Building outcomes and infrastructure development. Besides the challenging command assignments, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi has tenanted important staff appointments in the Headquarters Armoured Brigade, Mountain Division, Strike Corps and Integrated HQ (Army).
As Director General of Infantry, he had steered and fast-tracked capital procurement of weapons for the three services, leading to significant and visible capability enhancement for our Armed Forces. As Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information System & Coordination), the General officer gave impetus to the automation and absorption of niche technologies in the Indian Army. Being a technology enthusiast, he worked towards enhancing the technical threshold of all ranks in Northern Command and pushed for ‘Critical and Emerging Technologies’ like Big Data Analytics, AI, Quantum and Blockchain-based solutions.
The General officer has held instructional appointments to include tenures at Infantry School and Army War College, Mhow. The General officer’s two overseas tenures include Somalia, as part of HQ UNOSOM II and Seychelles as Military Advisor to the Govt of Seychelles. The General officer has attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington & Higher Command Course at AWC, Mhow.
The General officer was conferred ‘Distinguished Fellow’ in the coveted NDC equivalent course at USAWC, Carlisle, USA. He has an M Phil in Defence and Management Studies, in addition to two Master’s Degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Science including one from USAWC, USA. The General officer has also authored/presented articles in various professional forums/journals. He has pioneered the first-ever compendium on Indo-Myanmar Border Management.