Published: 12:45 AM, 14 June 2026
Lt. General Dhiraj Seth nominated as next Indian Army chief
India has appointed Lt. General Dhiraj Seth as the next chief of the army staff, with the decorated officer set to take over command on June 30 following the retirement of current Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence cited by a number of news agencies, Indian President Droupadi Murmu approved the appointment of Lt. General Dhiraj Seth in the vital rank of a General in Indian Army.
"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 Indian Army in the substantive rank of General, with effect from 30 June, 2026. General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, holds his tenure up to 31 August 2028," the ministry was quoted as mentioning in the report.
Lt. General Dhiraj Seth has served as vice-chief of Indian Army since April and will take over leadership of the force on the day Upendra Dwivedi retires.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, Dhiraj 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, capacity-building 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 Indian Defence Ministry's statement.
Indian media outlets have reported that Lt. General Dhiraj 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.
Dhiraj Seth is among a selected group of senior defence officers to have led two operational army commands, overseeing key military theatres for more than two and a half years before his elevation to the Indian Army's top post.
