Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth appointed next Indian Army chief, to take over on June 30

New Delhi: Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, the current vice-chief of Army staff (VCOAS), has been named the next chief of the Indian Army, the government announced on Saturday. He will succeed General Upendra Dwivedi, who retires on June 30.

Lt Gen Seth is expected to assume office as the 31st chief of Army staff (COAS), effective from the afternoon of June 30.

Who is Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth?

With nearly four decades of operational and strategic experience behind him, Lt Gen Seth has been closely associated with the Army’s modernization drive. Over the course of his career, he has held several influential appointments in strategic planning and capability development – including colonel, capability development (mechanized forces), and brigadier, perspective planning and acquisition – contributing significantly to the Army’s Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, he was commissioned into the Armoured Corps in December 1986.

His field commands have spanned an Armoured Corps regiment in desert terrain, an armoured brigade in a developed sector, and a counterinsurgency force in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), one of the country’s most sensitive operational theatres. On his promotion to lieutenant general, he took command of the Bhopal-based XXI Corps, also known as the Sudarshan Chakra Corps – one of the Army’s key strike formations.

In a rare distinction, Lt Gen Seth has commanded two major operational formations as an Army commander, having served as general officer commanding in chief (GOC-in-C) of both the South Western Command and the Southern Command, where he played a key role in strengthening India’s military posture along the western front.

On the academic front, he stood first in the Junior Command Course and was awarded the Best All-Round Student Officer medal at the Defence Services Staff College. He has also attended the Higher Command Course, the National Defence College, and the Command and Staff Course in Paris.

A critical role ahead

As vice-chief, Lieutenant General Seth currently holds the second-highest position in the Army, ranking below only the Army chief, with responsibilities spanning operational readiness, modernization, strategic planning, and coordination across commands and formations nationwide. He will now step into the top job at a time when the Army is grappling with high-stakes priorities – from the operational lessons of Operation Sindoor and the push for indigenous weapons platforms, to force restructuring under the theatre command construct and persistent tensions along both the western and northern borders.

His elevation continues a pattern in recent years of the Army chief’s post going to officers with strong Armoured Corps and western-front command backgrounds, reflecting the continuing weight given to mechanized warfare doctrine and Pakistan-facing operational priorities in the service’s senior leadership pipeline.