Newly commissioned Lieutenant from Punjab stands third in order of merit at Indian Military Academy

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12

A newly commissioned officer from Punjab has stood third in the order of merit of the Spring Term – 2021 that passed out from the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, on Saturday.

Lt Loveneet Singh, who belongs to Moga and is the son of an agriculturalist, has been commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry. He did his matriculation from Punjab Public School, Nabha, and then joined the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, from where he had proceeded to the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla. At IMA, he held the appointment of Academy Cadet Adjutant.

The Army today commissioned 341 officers as Lieutenants during the passing out parade of the 148 Regular Course and 131 Technical Graduate Course. Another 84 foreign cadets also passed out of the Academy today, who will be joining the armed forces of their respective countries.

Amongst the highest contributing states, Uttar Pradesh topped the tally with 66 officers followed by Haryana with 38. Uttarakhand had 37 officers while Punjab had 32.  There was no representation from eight states, while some had just a single officer.

The coveted Sword of Honour for being adjudged as the overall best cadet of the term was bagged by Battalion Under Officer Mukesh Kumar from Rajasthan, who also received the silver medal for standing second in the order of merit. The gold medal for standing first went to Academy Under Officer Deepak Singh from Uttarakhand.

The silver medal for standing first in the Technical Graduate Course was presented to Junior Under Officer Daksh Kumar Pant, while the silver medal for standing first among foreign cadets went to Junior Under Officer Kinley Norbu from Bhutan. The Chief of Army Staff’s Banner was awarded to Dograi Company for standing overall first amongst all 16 companies in the IMA.

Exhorting the newly commissioned officers to dedicate themselves to the service of the nation, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen RP Singh, who was the parade’s reviewing officer, said that the external and internal challenges that our nation faces from adversarial forces are only set to increase as we rise to take our destined place in the new global order.

“These are extremely challenging times while the world battles with the Covid pandemic and witnesses a host of varied conflicts across the world. You are stepping into an era typified by disruptive technologies, blurring definition of threats, expanding domains of conflict and an interplay of multi-polar complexities,” he said. “As warrior leaders of the future, your awareness, proficiency and leadership has to remain extremely dynamic and evolve constantly,” he added.

Congratulating the new officers, Lt Gen Singh said that as they step into the folds of the Army, every bit of what they have imbibed at IMA shall be put to test and everyone has complete confidence that they shall come out with flying colours. Stressing that the Chetwode Motto which accords priority to the nation and the men they command must always remain at the core of their conduct, he said that character, selflessness, empathy, risk taking and firm resolve must guide them as young leaders.

The ‘Pipping Ceremony’ that is pinning the badges of rank on the epaulettes, which is traditionally done by the parents of cadets, was done by instructors and staff of the IMA because of restrictions imposed due to Covid-19 protocols. Parents and family members of the passing out cadets could not attend the event.

Among the Indian pass-outs, 315 were from the regular course and 26 from the technical course. The infantry, being the army’s largest arm, got the lion’s share with 125 officers followed by the Artillery with 56 and Engineers with 29.

In addition, there were 84 officers from nine friendly foreign countries. These included 43 were from Afghanistan, 18 from Bhutan and 13 from Tajikistan. Mauritius and Vietnam had sent four and two cadets, respectively, while Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Tonga and Srilanka had sent one each.