JAMMU, JUNE 30: General Upendra Dwivedi assumed command of the Indian Army on Sunday.
He took over the command of the Indian Army from General Manoj Pande who superannuated today.
Prior to this, he was Vice Chief of the Army Staff from February 24 onwards. He is the recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and three GOC-in-C Commendation cards.
He 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.
From his school days, he was an
outstanding sportsman and excelled in both NDA and IMA, where he was
awarded the Blue in Physical Training. He continued to excel post commissioning and was awarded the gold medal in the Physical Training Course.
General officer has a unique distinction of balanced exposure along Northern, Western and Eastern Theatres, in varied terrain and operational environment including Deserts, High Altitude, Riverine, Built Up area,
North East and Jammu and Kashmir. He commanded his battalion in active Counter Terrorist operations in Kashmir Valley and in Rajasthan Deserts.
He has been IGAR (GOC) and Sector Cdr Assam Rifles in intense CT Ops 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 Rising Star Corps along Western front and
prestigious Northern Army from 2022-2024 in 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 J&K. 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.
He synergised with people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for convergent Nation Building outcomes and infrastructure
development.
He has varied staff exposures which includes handling conventional
operations of Armoured Brigade in the Punjab plains, providing logistical
support to a Mountain Division in North East along the Northern Borders and operations of a Strike Corps in Deserts.
At IHQ HQ (Army), he contributed significantly in Military Secretary’s branch and was instrumental in raising of a section in Military Operations Directorate.
Later, as the DG Infantry he steered and fast-tracked Capital procurement
cases of weapons for all the three services, leading to significant and visible capability enhancement for our Armed Forces. As Deputy Chief, he gave impetus towards automation and absorption of niche tech in the Indian Army. Being a tech enthusiast, he worked towards enhancing the
tech threshold of all ranks in Northern Command and pushed for Critical
& Emerging Techs like Big Data Analytics, AI, Quantum and Blockchain based solutions.
The officer’s two overseas tenures include Somalia, as part of HQ UNOSOM II and Seychelles as Military Advisor to the Government of Seychelles. Besides, attending Staff College, Wellington & Higher
Command Course at AWC, Mhow, the officer was conferred ‘Distinguished Fellow’ in the coveted NDC equivalent course at USAWC,
Carlisle, USA. Complementing his illustrious military career, are an M Phil in Defence & Management Studies, in addition to the two Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies and Military Science including one from USAWC,
USA. He has authored / presented articles in various professional forums / Journals.
He is married to Mrs Sunita Dwivedi, a science graduate, who is a home
maker. Mrs Sunita Dwivedi has been associated with Aarushi, an institute
for special ability children at Bhopal. The couple are blessed with two daughters who are working with NGOs. General officer is a skilled Yoga practitioner.
