Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi begins 4-day Bhutan visit

New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) Looking to enhancing defence cooperation, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, on Monday, departed for Bhutan on a four-day official visit.

During the visit, General Dwivedi will call Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

He will also hold discussions with Lieutenant General Batoo Tshering, Chief Operations Officer of the Royal Bhutan Army, said an official statement.

General Dwivedi will also interact with senior officials of the Indian Embassy, Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT) and Project DANTAK.

The visit reflects the deep-rooted and time-tested ties between India and Bhutan, and reaffirms India's commitment to a close and trusted partner, it said.

In another development, Rear Admiral V. Ganapathy, an accomplished Flag Officer of the Indian Navy, assumed the command of the Military Institute of Technology (MILIT) in Pune, under the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

During his naval career, Rear Admiral Ganapathy has held several key operational, staff and instructional appointments, demonstrating a rare blend of operational insight, institutional leadership and future-oriented thinking.

He is an alumnus of the College of Defence Management, National Defence College, and Defence Services Staff College.

Rear Admiral Ganapathy's appointment as Commandant comes at a transformative time when the Armed Forces are undergoing rapid technological evolution and institutional integration under the ethos of jointness.

As the head of India's premier tri-services technical training institution, he now helms the mission of preparing mid-career officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and friendly nations in cutting-edge military technologies.

His leadership is poised to further strengthen MILIT's role as a hub of excellence in joint technical education, with a renewed emphasis on niche and emerging domains that are reshaping modern warfare.

The MILIT in Pune is an inter-service institution of the Ministry of Defence.

It conducts prestigious Defence Services Technical Staff Course and trains officers of the three Services of Indian Armed Forces which are the Army, Navy, Air Force and officers from friendly foreign countries for command and staff appointments.

--IANS

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