New Delhi: Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma Thursday took over as the general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of the critical Northern Command amid heightened tensions with Pakistan on one side and continued stand-off with China on the other.
Lt Gen Sharma, who was earlier the deputy chief of the Indian Army (strategy), takes over following the superannuation of Lt Gen M.V. Suchindra Kumar on 30 April.
The DCOAS (strategy) oversees critical directorates within the Indian Army, including operations and intelligence.
Commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Madras Regiment, the new Northern Army commander has served as the director general of military operations (DGMO), the crucial wing of the Indian Army that oversees the operational requirements and strategies.
Lt Gen Sharma has also served as the commander of the Ambala-based 2 Corps, also known as the Kharga Corps, which is one of the two Strike Corps meant for the Western borders.
He has also commanded a Division in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Incidentally, Lt Gen Sharma had been stationed in Kashmir since the Pahalgam attack and was part of all security briefings and planning.
The Northern Command looks after both the borders with Pakistan and China, besides having a counter-infiltration and counter-terrorism role.
In over three decades, Lt Gen Sharma has served in multiple operational environments, including Operation Pawan, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)’s operation in Jaffa, Sri Lanka in the late 1980s; Operation Meghdoot, the 1984 Indian Army operation to take back the Siachen Glacier, which continues; Operation Rakshak, a counter-terrorism operation in Jammu and Kashmir that began in the 1990s; and Operation Parakram, the 2001-02 standoff between India and Pakistan.
He has also served in the military secretary branch and was the director general, (information warfare), a recently institutionalised information directorate at the Army headquarters in New Delhi.
Other key appointments
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who was earlier the air officer commanding-in-chief of Central Air Command in Allahabad, has taken over as the new chief of integrated defence staff (CISC) following the superannuation of Lt Gen J.P. Mathew.
A seasoned test pilot and qualified flying instructor with over 3,300 flying hours, Air Marshal Dixit brings in extensive operational and planning experience and has commanded a Mirage squadron.
He will be replaced by Air Marshal Balakrishnan Manikantan, currently AOC-in-C of the Southern Air Command.
Meanwhile, Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari has taken over as the new vice-chief of the Air Staff following the superannuation of Air Marshal S.P. Dharkar.
Tiwari was earlier commanding the South Western Air Command in Gandhinagar, and he will be replaced by the current Training Command Chief, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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