New Delhi. Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar on July 1 assumed command as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Indian Army’s Southern Command, succeeding Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, who has taken over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Pushkar was commissioned into the 74 Armoured Regiment in December 1988 and has served in a wide range of command, staff and instructional appointments during a distinguished military career spanning nearly four decades.
Before taking over Southern Command, Lt Gen Pushkar served as General Officer Commanding of 2 Corps, where he provided leadership during Operation Sindoor. His command experience includes leading an armoured regiment in an operational area, an independent armoured brigade of strategic importance, an infantry division and a premier Strike Corps in the western sector.
The General Officer has also held several key staff appointments, including Colonel Military Secretary in a Strike Corps, Colonel General Staff of an armoured division in the western sector, Brigadier Quartermaster General of a Strike Corps and Brigadier General Staff at an operational command headquarters. He has additionally served as Additional Director General of the Armoured Corps and Director General of the Territorial Army.
Lt Gen Pushkar has also been an instructor at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla and brings significant international experience to his new assignment. He served with the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan and later as Defence and Military Attaché at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, with concurrent accreditation to Armenia and Belarus.
A graduate of the National Defence Academy, he is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, College of Defence Management and the National Defence College. His academic qualifications include master’s degrees in Defence and Strategic Studies and Management Studies, besides an MPhil in Defence and International Relations.
In recognition of his distinguished service, Lt Gen Pushkar has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal, in addition to receiving the Chief of Army Staff Commendation and three Army Commander’s Commendations.
After assuming command, the Army Commander paid homage to fallen soldiers at the Southern Command War Memorial and received a ceremonial guard of honour at the Southern Command headquarters in Pune.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to maintaining high levels of operational preparedness across its area of responsibility and stressed the importance of greater jointness among the armed forces, development of indigenous capabilities and rapid integration of emerging technologies to meet future security challenges.
