Increasing capabilities to meet China’s military challenges, bolstering the theaterisation push, increasing the Army’s tooth-to-tail ratio, and maximizing the defense budget with a focus on indigenisation are slated to be among the top priorities for India’s next army chief, Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, who will take over the 1.3-million-strong force on April 30.
Pande will be the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to assume the highest position, as announced by the government on Monday. The 59-year-old general will have two years and one month to put his vision for the army into action and solve the army’s difficulties.
For almost two years, India and China have been involved in a border impasse in the sensitive Ladakh sector. Despite three rounds of disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — Galwan, Pangong Tso, and Gogra — the two armies still have 50,000 to 60,000 troops and advanced equipment in the Ladakh region.
Since the stalemate began in May 2020, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have undertaken 15 rounds of military negotiations, although unresolved issues at a few places of friction have yet to be addressed.
