Dhiraj Seth

General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM is a serving four-star general officer of the Indian Army. He is the current and 31st Chief of the Army Staff. He previously served as the 49th Vice Chief of the Army Staff. He earlier served as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, and as the General Officer Commanding, XXI Corps. He is also the Colonel of the Regiment of the Armoured Corps.

Early life and education 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. Later, he attended the General Staff Course at the French Collège interarmées de Défense and International Defense Acquisition Management Course at the Naval Postgraduate School, USA.

In DSSC, he was adjudged as the best all-round student of his course in 2006. He was also awarded the ‘Silver Centurion’ in the Young Officers Course and stood first in order of merit in several courses attended by him, including the Junior Command Course.

Military career The general was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) on 20 December 1986 from the Indian Military Academy. He also served with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III as an operations officer from 1995-1996. 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. He relinquished the command on 31 March 2026.

On 1 April 2026, Lieutenant General 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. On 30 June 2026, General Dhiraj Seth took over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi, who superannuated after more than four decades of service to the nation. On assuming charge as the COAS, he outlined his vision of 'VIJAY' comprising five elements for the Indian Army.

Personal life He is married to Komal Seth and the couple has two daughters. , the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal in 2026 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022 and commendations from the Chief of Army Staff and Army Commanders.

Param Vishisht Seva MedalUttam Yudh seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Samanya Seva MedalSpecial Service Medal Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Medal Videsh Seva Medal 75th Independence Anniversary Medal 50th Independence Anniversary Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal UNAVEM III Dates of rank