Lt General Manoj Pande appointed army chief: A meeting of Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday cleared the name Lt General Manoj Pande for the appointment as Chief of Army Staff, succeeding General MM Naravane who retires at the month end.  Pande, who is Vice Chief of Army Staff and would be first officer from the Corps of Engineers, will take over as the 29th Chief of Army Staff of 1.3 million strong Indian Army.