Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi has taken over as the 25th General Officer Commanding-In-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command in Kolkata.Bakshi, who assumed charge on Saturday, succeeded Lt. Gen. M.M.S. Rai who has been elevated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff.An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, the new army commander was commissioned into Skinner's Horse. He has rich operational and command experience.Among several important positions held by him are command of an armoured brigade in the Western Sector, a division in the desert and a corps in the plains of Punjab and in Jammu and Kashmir.Prior to this appointment, Bakshi was chief of staff of the Northern Command at Udhampur.