New Delhi: Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on February 19 assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, succeeding Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar. Lt Gen Dwivedi, prior to taking over as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, was serving as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command. Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar has been appointed as General-Officer-Commanding of Udhampur-based Northern Command.
Lt Gen Dwivedi has vast operational experience along the frontiers with China and Pakistan and is the front-runner to become the Army Chief when incumbent General Manoj Pande retires on May 31. Lt Gen Dwivedi paid homage to the fallen heroes at the National War memorial here and reviewed a guard of honour before taking charge of his new responsibility.
Lt Gen Dwivedi, an alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa was commissioned into 18 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in 1984, a unit he later commanded. He has held command appointments in challenging operational environments, spanning the length and breadth of the country in his illustrious career spanning 39 years. He commanded his unit in Kashmir Valley as well as in Rajasthan.
Lt Gen Dwivedi was the Sector Commander and the Inspector General of Assam Rifles in an intense counter terrorism environment in the North East. He commanded the Rising Star Corps with an operational role along the western borders.
“The General officer has had a unique distinction of balanced exposure of both Northern and Western Theatres. Lt Gen Dwivedi commanded the prestigious Northern Army in an extremely challenging operational environment along both the northern and western borders,” the Army said in a statement.
As Northern Army commander, he provided strategic guidance and operational oversight for 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, the Army said.
Lt Gen Dwivedi 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 (self-reliant India). The Army said that he synergised with people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for “convergent nation-building outcomes” and infrastructure development.
Besides the challenging command assignments, Lt Gen Dwivedi has tenanted important staff appointments in headquarters Armoured Brigade, Mountain Division, Strike Corps and Integrated HQ (Army). “As Director General 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,” the Army said.
As Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Information System and Coordination), the General officer gave impetus to 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 the Northern Command and pushed for ‘critical and emerging technologies’ like Big Data Analytics, AI, Quantum and Blockchain-based solutions, it said.
The General officer has attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow. He was conferred ‘Distinguished Fellow’ in the coveted NDC equivalent course at US Army War College (USAWC) Carlisle. He has an M. Phil in Defence and Management Studies in addition to the two Master’s Degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Science including one from USAWC.
