General Dhiraj Seth will assume charge as India’s new Chief of the Army Staff on Tuesday, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi, who retires after more than four decades of military service. Seth’s appointment marks a leadership transition as the army pushes ahead with modernisation, capability development, and re-structuring initiatives to sharpen its combat readiness.
He will be the first officer from the Armoured Corps to lead the service in nearly three decades. Seth, who was the army’s vice chief until now, will hold office until August 31, 2028. General S Roy Chowdhury was the last Armoured Corps officer to hold the top position between 1994 and 1997.
Other changes in the army hierarchy include Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain taking over as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, and Lieutenant Generals Mohit Malhotra and Rajesh Pushkar taking the reins of the Jaipur-based South Western Command and the Pune-based Southern Command, respectively.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, and the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, Seth was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers on December 20, 1986. Known for his professionalism and military acumen, he attended the Defence Services Command and General Staff Course at the Military College in Paris, the International Defence Acquisition Management Course at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, the Higher Command Course at Mhow, and the National Defence College in New Delhi.
He has commanded the armoured regiment Skinner’s Horse, an armoured brigade, a counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, a strike corps on the western front, South Western Command and Southern Command.
{{/usCountry}}He has commanded the armoured regiment Skinner’s Horse, an armoured brigade, a counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, a strike corps on the western front, South Western Command and Southern Command.
{{/usCountry}}Seth’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment as the armed forces advance theaterisation, a long-awaited reform designed to integrate the military’s resources for future conflicts. The model involves raising a China-centric northern theatre command in Lucknow, a Pakistan-centric western theatre command in Jaipur, and a maritime theatre command in Thiruvananthapuram.