Central Govt’s Rare Extension for Army Chief General Manoj Pande

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Sunday granted a one-month extension to army chief General Manoj Pande till June 30, reported The Telegraph. General Pande was due to retire on May 31.

Quoting sources in the army, The Telegraph reported that this was only the second time such an extension had been granted to the incumbent army chief. In 1975, then army chief General G.G. Bewoor was given a one-year extension by the Indira Gandhi government so that the next in line in seniority, Lt Gen Prem Bhagat, retired from service.

“The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, on May 26, 2024, 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), i.e. up to June 30, 2024, under Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

General Pande took over as the Army chief on April 30, 2022.