By IANS
New Delhi : Gen. Deepak Kapoor, till recently the vice chief, took over the reins of the Indian Army from Gen. J.J. Singh, who retired at mid-day Sunday.
The handing over of the baton was solemnised in a simple ceremony in the army chief’s office here. This was preceded by a farewell guard of honour accorded to Singh on the lawns of the South Block.
Singh also paid homage to the martyrs at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate.
Kapoor, the 23rd chief of the second largest army in the world, “brings with him vast and rich experiences in strategic thought; operational excellence and effective management of vast multi-technology and multi-disciplinary resources, including the vast financial and human capital that the Indian Army employs,” a defence ministry release said.
An alumnus of the Sainik School, the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the National Defence College, Kapoor’s rise through the army’s steep pyramidical hierarchy to its very apex, “has been a journey that saw him performing extra-ordinarily well in a large number of key and prestigious appointments”, the release added.
Commissioned in the Regiment of Artillery in June 1967, Kapoor participated in the war for liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. From 1994 to 1995, he represented India as the chief operations officer for all UN peacekeeping forces deployed in Somalia, for which he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) in 1996.
During his tenure as a brigade commander deployed on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, he was awarded the Sena Medal (devotion to duty) in 1998.
Kapoor commanded one of the most prestigious divisions of a strike corps during Operation Parakram, the army’s mobilisation along the Kashmir frontier that followed the terror strike against the Indian parliament in December 2001.
He went on to command a corps in the northeast deployed along the Sino-Indian frontier. For his excellent command of the corps, Kapoor was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) in 2006.
On promotion as army commander, he headed the Army Training Command at Shimla and thereafter the largest and most sensitive command of the Indian Army, the Northern Command – from September 2005 to December 2006.
“As a result of his sustained efforts, both violence levels and infiltration came down appreciably in Kashmir,” the release said, adding that for his efforts, Kapoor was awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) in 2007.
His last appointment was that of vice chief of army staff.
“An avid reader, intellectual and strategic thinker as well as a keen sportsman, Kapoor takes over the command of the Indian Army in the midst of shifting paradigms in national security challenges and at a time when the (force) has embarked upon a transformation process to incorporate cutting edge technologies to enhance and retain its competitive advantage,” the release noted.
He “has an abiding interest in self-improvement and acquisition of knowledge, in pursuance of which he acquired a masters degree in political science, military science and business administration”.
Kapoor is married to Kirti, daughter of army veteran Brig. K.P. Pande, who is a recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC). The Kapoors have two children – a daughter and a son, both of whom are married.