Who is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become Chief of Army…

The Indian Army is organised into combat arms (such as Infantry, Armoured Corps and Artillery) and supporting arms and services. The Corps of Engineers is a supporting combat-support arm responsible for military engineering — fortifications, bridging, mine warfare and infrastructure. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is the professional head of the Army, and historically this top post had been held by officers from the combat arms, most often the Infantry.

Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, who was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers in 1982, was appointed Chief of Army Staff and assumed charge on 30 April 2022. With this appointment he became the first officer ever drawn from the Corps of Engineers to head the Indian Army — a break from the long-standing pattern of Army Chiefs coming from the Infantry and other combat arms.

Distinguishing him from the other names listed:

• Bipin Rawat — Infantry officer (11 Gorkha Rifles); served as Army Chief from 2017 to 2019 and later became India's first Chief of Defence Staff, but he was not from the Corps of Engineers.

• M. M. Naravane — Infantry officer (Sikh Light Infantry); served as Army Chief immediately before this appointment, but he too came from the Infantry, not the Corps of Engineers.

• Bikram Singh — Infantry officer (Sikh Light Infantry); served as Army Chief from 2012 to 2014 and was not an engineer officer.

Hence the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become Chief of Army Staff is Manoj Pande.