NEW DELHI: An ace infantry officer with vast experience in operations, General Upendra Dwivedi, took over the command of the Indian Army on Sunday. The 30th Chief of the Indian Army belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and was Vice Chief of Army Staff from February this year. 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-terrorism operations in the Kashmir Valley and in the Rajasthan Desert. He has been Inspector General Assam Rifles as Major General and Sector commander as Brigadieri. Assam Rifles participated in intense counterterrorism operations 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 the Rising Star Corps along the Western Front and the prestigious Northern Army from 2022-2024 in an 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 synergized with the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for convergent nation-building outcomes and infrastructure development. He has varied staff exposures, which include handling conventional operations of the Armed Brigade in the Punjab Plains, providing logistical support to a Mountain Division in the North East along the Northern Borders and operating a Strike Corps in deserts. At IHQ HQ (Army), he contributed significantly to the Military Secretary’s branch and was instrumental in raising a section in the Military Operations Directorate. Later, as the DG Infantry, he steered and fast-tracked capital procurement cases of weapons for all three services, leading to significant and visible capability enhancement for our Armed Forces. As Deputy Chief, he gave impetus to automation and the absorption of niche technology 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 technologies 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 the 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 two Master’s degrees 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 Sunita Dwivedi, a science graduate, who is a homemaker. Sunita Dwivedi has been associated with Aarushi, an institute for special ability children in Bhopal. The couple are blessed with two daughters who are working with NGOs.
