M. V. Suchindra Kumar

Indian Army General

Lieutenant General
M. V. Suchindra Kumar
PVSM AVSM YSM** VSM
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 February 2024
Chief of Army StaffManoj Pande
Upendra Dwivedi
Preceded byUpendra Dwivedi
45th Vice Chief of the Army Staff
In office
1 March 2023 – 18 February 2024
PresidentDroupadi Murmu
Chief of Army StaffManoj Pande
Preceded byB. S. Raju
Succeeded byUpendra Dwivedi
Personal details
SpouseAsha Suchindra
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service8 June 1985 – present
Rank Lieutenant General
Unit 1 Assam Regiment
Commands Northern Command
XVI Corps
120 Infantry Brigade
59 Rashtriya Rifles (Assam)
Service numberIC-42794X [1]
Awards

Lieutenant General M. V. Suchindra Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, YSM**, VSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command.[2] He previously served as the 45th Vice Chief of the Army Staff,[3] prior to that he was Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy).[4] He also served as the Director General Military Intelligence and as the General Officer Commanding XVI Corps.[5] He is also the Colonel of the Assam Regiment & the Arunachal Scouts.

Early life and education

He was born in a Lingayat family completed his schooling from the Sainik School, Bijapur. He then attended the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy.[6] He also attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Higher Command Course, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He has also attended courses on Cooperative Security in South Asia in Sri Lanka and United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course in Egypt.[7]

Military career

The general officer was commissioned into the 1st battalion, The Assam Regiment (1 ASSAM) in June 1985. He attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He served as an instructor at the Infantry School, Mhow. As part of the United Nations, he served as the Sector Senior Operations Officer in the Transitional Authority in Cambodia and in the Indian Army Training team in Lesotho.[8] At Army headquarters, he served in the Military Secretary Branch. He commanded the 59 battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles (Assam). The RR battalions are deployed in a counter-insurgency role in Jammu and Kashmir.

Promoted to the rank of Brigadier, he commanded the 120 Infantry Brigade. For this stint, he was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal on 26 January 2014.[9] He was then selected to attend the National Defence College in New Delhi, as part of the 54th course. After completing the course, he was appointed Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of a corps in the Eastern theatre. On 26 January 2018, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal.[10]

General officer

He was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed General officer commanding of an infantry division on the line of control. In the 2019 Republic Day honours, he was awarded a bar to the Yudh Seva Medal.[11] He subsequently served in the Military Intelligence directorate as the Additional Director General Military Intelligence (ADGMI). On 28 January 2020, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and was appointed the General Officer Commanding of XVI Corps succeeding Lieutenant General Harsha Gupta.[12][13] For his tenure as GOC XVI Corps, he was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2022.[14] After a year-long stint, he moved to Army HQ as the Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI).[15] After a short stint as DGMI, on 1 July 2022 he assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy).[4]

On 1 March 2023, Lieutenant General M. V. Suchindra Kumar took over as the 45th Vice Chief of the Army Staff succeeding Lieutenant General B. S. Rajuwho moved to South Western Command as Army Commander.[16] On 19 February 2024, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command succeeding General (then Lieutenant General) Upendra Dwivedi who moved to the Army Headquarters as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff.[17]

Personal life

He is married to Asha Suchindra, an educationalist. The couple has two children. Gen Kumar is an amateur half marathon runner, golf enthusiast and yoga practitioner. An avid reader, his military papers have been published in a number of professional journals.[18]

Awards and decorations

The General officer was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal in 2014, the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2018, a bar to the Yudh Seva Medal in 2019, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024.[19]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Yudh Seva Medal (Bar) Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva Medal Special Service Medal
Sainya Seva Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal 50th Independence Anniversary Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNTAC Medal

Dates of rank

Insignia Rank Component Date of rank
Second Lieutenant Indian Army 8 June 1985
Lieutenant Indian Army 8 June 1987[20]
Captain Indian Army 8 June 1990[21]
Major Indian Army 8 June 1996[22]
Lieutenant Colonel Indian Army 16 December 2004[23]
Colonel Indian Army 15 August 2006[24]
Brigadier Indian Army 25 February 2012 (acting)
28 April 2012 (substantive, with seniority from 9 October 2010)[25]
Major General Indian Army 1 September 2017 (seniority from 1 June 2015)[26]
Lieutenant General Indian Army 28 January 2020[27]

References

  1. ^ https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1999669
  2. ^ Service, Statesman News (20 February 2024). "Lt General Suchindra Kumar takes charge of Army's Northern Command". The Statesman. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Lieutenant General MV Suchindra Kumar appointed new Army Vice Chief". India Today. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Lt. General M.V. Suchindra Kumar took over the appointment of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) of Indian Army". www.spslandforces.com. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar assumes command of Jammu-based 16 Corps". The Economic Times. 13 October 2020. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Lt. Gen Suchindra Kumar visits Chinar Corps to enhance Army's coordination in Jammu & Kashmir". The Economic Times. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  7. ^ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL MV SUCHINDRA KUMAR TAKES OVER AS VICE CHIEF OF THE ARMY STAFF". PIB. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar to be new Vice Chief of Army". ThePrint. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  9. ^ "368 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced". archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  10. ^ "390 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  11. ^ "411 Republic Day Gallantry and Other Defence Decorations Announced". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar assumes command of Jammu-based 16 Corps". The Economic Times. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Lt Gen M V Suchindra Kumar takes command of Jammu-based 16 Corps". ANI News. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  14. ^ "President approves 384 Gallantry Awards and other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Who Is Lt General MV Suchindra Kumar, Indian Army's New Vice Chief? All You Need To Know". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  16. ^ Luthra, Swati (1 March 2023). "Lt General MV Suchindra Kumar takes over as Vice Chief of Army Staff". mint. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  17. ^ PTI (19 February 2024). "Lt Gen. M V Suchindra Kumar assumes charge of Army's Northern Command". ThePrint. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  18. ^ "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in.
  19. ^ "75th Republic Day: President approves Gallantry and distinguished awards to Army" (PDF). pib.gov.in. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 22 July 1989. p. 1000.
  21. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 12 October 1991. p. 1502.
  22. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 21 September 1996. p. 1339.
  23. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 July 2005. p. 1121.
  24. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2009. p. 1381.
  25. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 September 2014. p. 1711.
  26. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 December 2021. p. 2960.
  27. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 16 April 2022. p. 736.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
19 February 2022 - present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by Vice Chief of the Army Staff
1 March 2023 – 18 February 2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Sanjeev Kumar Sharma
 Deputy Chief of the Army Staff
(Strategy)
1 July 2022 – 28 February 2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Harsha Gupta
 General Officer Commanding XVI Corps
14 October 2020 – 28 October 2021 		Succeeded by
Manjinder Singh