India names Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth as next chief of army staff

His elevation follows a career that spanned frontline operations, counter-insurgency missions and senior strategic leadership roles

India has appointed Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth as the next chief of the army staff, with the veteran officer set to assume command on Jun 30 following the retirement of General Upendra Dwivedi.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence cited by Hindustan Times, President Droupadi Murmu approved the appointment of Lt Gen Seth in the substantive rank of General.

“I am directed to convey the approval of the President to the appointment of Lt General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM as the next Chief of the Army Staff in the substantive rank of General, with effect from 30 (th) June, 2026 vice General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, with a tenure upto 31st August, 2028,” the ministry was quoted as saying in the report.

Lt Gen Seth has served as vice-chief of the army staff since April and will take over leadership of the force on the day Dwivedi retires.

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

Over a military career spanning nearly four decades, he has held a wide range of operational, strategic, capability-development and institutional assignments.

His command roles have included an armoured regiment in the desert sector, an armoured brigade in the western theatre and a counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the government statement.

The Indian news outlet reported that Seth also commanded the elite Sudarshan Chakra Corps, served as General Officer Commanding of the Delhi Area, and later headed both the South Western Command and the Southern Command.

He is among a select group of senior officers to have commanded two operational army commands, overseeing key military theatres for more than two and a half years before his elevation to the army's top post.