Pune: Lieutenant General Rajesh Pushkar, who commanded the Army’s 2 Corps during Operation Sindoor, on Tuesday assumed charge as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Command. He succeeds Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, who has assumed office as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, Lt Gen Pushkar was commissioned into the 74 Armoured Regiment in Dec 1988. During his military career spanning nearly four decades, he has held a range of key command, staff and instructional appointments across both operational and strategic domains.Prior to his new role at the Pune-headquartered Southern Command, Lt Gen Pushkar served as General Officer Commanding of the 2 Corps, where he provided operational leadership during Operation Sindoor. His command experience includes leading an armoured regiment in an operational area, an independent armoured brigade, an infantry division and a premier strike corps in the Western sector.His staff assignments include tenures as Brigadier General Staff of an operational command, Additional Director General of the Armoured Corps and Director General of the Territorial Army. He has also served as an instructor at the NDA.Lt Gen Pushkar has significant international exposure, having been part of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan and serving as Defence and Military Attaché at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, with accreditation to Armenia and Belarus.After assuming charge, Lt Gen Pushkar paid tribute at the Southern Command war memorial and received a guard of honour at the headquarters.
