Manjinder Singh (general)

Lieutenant general Manjinder Singh, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command. He previously held the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Policy Planning & Force Development) at HQ IDS, prior to this he was General Officer Commanding XVI Corps. He also served as Chief of Staff, Western Command. The general officer is also the Colonel of the Regiment of the Madras Regiment since 1 January 2021.

Early life and education

The general officer is an alumnus of Sainik School, Kapurthala. He then attended the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He obtained other military courses from various institutions such as Defence Services Staff College, Higher Command Course and National Defence College of Thailand.

Military career

He was commissioned into 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment on 20 December 1986 from the Indian Military Academy. In his lengthy military career spanning over 30 years, he has the distinction of tenanting notable command and staff appointments in Jammu & Kashmir and on the Western Front. He commanded his battalion in a counter-insurgency environment in Jammu and Kashmir, and tenanted varied staff appointments in Corps and Commands along the Western Front. He was also appointed as a commanding officer for Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, infantry brigade at the Line of Control (LOC) and an Infantry Division as part of Strike Corps. and a Corps deployed along Line of Control in Counter Insurgency Operations in J&K. The General Officer has tenanted varied staff appointments in Corps and Commands along the Western Front and in the Counter Insurgency Operations environment. The general Officer has also been as an instructor at the Indian Military Academy and Commandant Indian Military Training Team Bhutan. He has also served as the MGGS (Ops) at Headquarters of the Western Command

After being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Western Command. On 29 October 2021, he took over as the General Officer Commanding of White Knight Corps (XVI) from Lieutenant General M.V. Suchindra Kumar. A year later on 4 Jan 2023, he assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Policy Planning & Force Development) at the Integrated Defence Staff.

On 1 December 2023, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command succeeding Lieutenant General Surinder Singh Mahal, who superannuated on 30 November 2023. On 1 July 2024, Lieutenant General Manjinder Singh took over as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command succeeding Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth who moved to Southern Command as an Army Commander.

Awards and decorations

During his career, the general officer was awarded with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2026, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024, the Yudh Seva Medal in 2015 and the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2019.

Dates of rank