Dhiraj Seth

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Army War College, Mhow and the National Defence College, New Delhi. In DSSC, he was adjudged as the best all-round student of his course in 2006. Later, he attended the General Staff Course at the French Collège interarmées de Défense.^[8] The general officer is also qualified in International Defense Acquisition Management Course at the Naval Postgraduate School, USA.^[9] He was awarded the ‘Silver Centurion’ in the Young Officers Course, he stood first in the order of merit in several courses he attended, including the Junior Command Course.

The general officer was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) on 20 December 1986 from the Indian Military Academy.^[10] In a career spanning over three decades, he has undertaken numerous command, staff and instructional appointments. He has commanded the Skinner's Horse, 98 Armoured Brigade and was General Officer Commanding of Uniform force in Jammu & Kashmir. He has served as brigade major of an independent Armoured brigade, as the Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary's Branch, as Brigadier General Staff (Operations) at the South Western Command, as brigadier perspective plans with the Strategic Planning Directorate and as the Additional Director General Weapons and Equipment.^[11] He also served with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III as an operations officer from 1995-1996.^[12] He has done instructional tenures as an instructor and assistant adjutant at the National Defence Academy (NDA), and as an instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare, Ahmednagar.^[11]

After being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, he assumed the appointment of Director General (Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare) at Army Headquarters, New Delhi. On 31 July 2021, he took over as the General Officer Commanding, XXI Corps.^[6] He was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area in August 2022.^[5]

On 1 November 2023, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Command succeeding Lieutenant General B. S. Raju who superannuated on 31 October 2023.^[13] On 1 July 2024, he took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command succeeding Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh.^[14] He relinquished the command on 31 March 2026.^[15]

On 1 April 2026, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth took over the appointment of Vice Chief of the Army Staff succeeding Lieutenant General Pushpendra Pal Singh who moved to Western Command as an Army Commander.^[2]

He is son of Lieutenant General Krishna Mohan Seth (Retd.), who retired as the Adjutant-General of the Indian Army in 1997 and also commanded XXI Strike Corps and III Corps.^[6] The general is an avid sportsman and excels in Tennis and Golf.

During his career, the general officer has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025^[16], the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2026^[17] and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022^[18] and commendations from the Chief of Army Staff and Army Commanders.