After serving for 42 years in the military General Manoj Mukund Naravane retired from service on Friday. Till date, he was serving his term as the army chief. He was succeeded by General Manoj Pande as the new army chief.

The army chief was invited by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan today at this occasion. President and the First lady hosted the former Army chief and his wife, as the photo of was tweeted from the official twitter handle of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also met General Naravane later today. Rajnath Singh tweeted, “Had a wonderful meeting with the Army Chief, General MM Naravane, who is going to retire today after serving the nation for 42 years. His contributions as a military leader have strengthened India’s defence capabilities & preparedness. I wish him success in his future endeavors.”

Before succeeding as the Army Chief, General Manoj Pande had served the nation as a vice army chief.  He is the first army officer from the Corps of Engineers also known as ‘Sappers’. Amy Chiefs are allowed to serve the post till the age of 62 or for a period of three years whichever is up first.

For the past few years India is being facing challenges along the border with China. It would be interesting to see how General Manoj Pande handles the tension.