35 manuscripts cleared over four years
The Ministry of Defence cleared 35 book manuscripts written by serving and retired personnel of the armed forces between 2020 and 2024, according to information reported by The Indian Express. The clearances relate to books that require official approval under service rules and related procedures.
During the same period, a manuscript by former Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane remains the only one shown as awaiting clearance, the report said.
Recent approvals include multiple senior officers
The list of authors whose books have been cleared recently includes several senior Army officers, as per the report. These include Lieutenant General S A Hasnain, Lieutenant General S K Gadeock, Lieutenant General S R R Aiyengar, Major General (Dr) Ashok Kumar, Major General Sashikant Pitre, Major General R K Sharma, Major General G D Bakshi, and Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi.
The report did not provide details of the themes, titles, or publication timelines of the cleared manuscripts, but indicated that the approvals were granted through the Defence Ministry’s clearance process.
Clearance process reflected in official responses
The information on the number of manuscripts cleared and the single pending case was presented as part of the reported data covering the 2020–24 period. Such clearances are commonly sought for books by service personnel, particularly when they may touch on military service, operations, or official matters covered by regulations.
The Indian Express report noted that General Naravane’s manuscript was the only one pending among those considered during the period.
What the reported figures indicate
The reported numbers suggest that most manuscripts submitted for clearance in the 2020–24 window were approved, with one pending case highlighted in the data. No further reasons were cited in the report for the pending status of General Naravane’s manuscript.