General Dhiraj Seth, a decorated Armoured Corps officer, took over as the 31st Chief of the Indian Army Staff on Tuesday, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi, who superannuated after more than four decades of service. General Seth is the first Armoured Corps officer to lead the Indian Army in over three decades; the last was General Roy Chowdhury, who retired in September 1997.
Extensive Experience Across Operational and Strategic Domains
Commissioned in December 1986, General Seth has commanded at every level in diverse operational environments. His command assignments include an Armoured Regiment in the Desert Sector, an Armoured Brigade in the Western Theatre, and a Counter-Insurgency Force in Jammu & Kashmir. As a Lieutenant General, he commanded the South Western Command and the Southern Command – both tasked westwards. It is rare to command two operational Army Commands. He provided strategic oversight across critical theatres for over two and a half years. He has held several key staff and strategic appointments that have significantly influenced operational planning, force management, and capability development.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, General Seth has had extensive experience across operational, strategic, capability development, and institutional domains, contributing significantly to the Indian Army's combat effectiveness and long-term transformation. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain, the Southern Army Commander, will replace him as the Vice Chief of the Army.
India Records 483 New Faunal Species; Kerala Tops Chart
According to 'Animal Discoveries–2025' released by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) on Tuesday marking its 111th foundation day, India recorded 483 species, of which 226 were recorded for the first time in the country. A total of 709 new faunal records were added to the national biodiversity database. With these additions, India's documented faunal diversity has reached 1,05,953 species, reaffirming its status as one of the world's leading megadiverse nations.
Among states, Kerala recorded the highest number of new species (98), followed by West Bengal (76), Karnataka (67), and Arunachal Pradesh (65). In 2024, Kerala also recorded the maximum number of species. The ZSI report documented 683 species that year, with 459 globally new and 224 recorded for the first time in India. In 2022 and 2023, 641 and 631 species were recorded respectively.
Plant Discoveries 2025 and PaleoIndia Portal
'Plant Discoveries 2025', the nineteenth edition of the series, added 353 new plant species to the Indian flora during 2025. Out of 353 taxa, 339 species and 14 infraspecific taxa are new to Indian flora. A total of 221 taxa are new to science, and 132 taxa are new distributional records from India.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav also launched the PaleoIndia Portal, jointly developed by ZSI and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, using geological datasets from the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The digital platform documents fossil fauna across all 28 states and 8 Union Territories and currently hosts information on more than 5,000 fossil specimens spanning mammals, reptiles, birds, fishes, amphibians, molluscs, arthropods, foraminifera, echinoderms, and ichnofossils. Equipped with a real-time data upload system, the portal will facilitate field-based documentation as well as citizen science participation.
Haryana, Punjab & Chandigarh Among Top 5 in Criminal Law Rankings
Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh are among the top five states and Union Territories currently leading the nationwide ranking of the new criminal laws, two years after these came into force on July 1, 2024. Sources said Haryana, Goa, Assam, Punjab, and Chandigarh have topped on the basis of four key parameters: administrative reforms, operational efficiency, ICT application, and integration – which need to be complied with under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) rankings.
The four parameters under the BNS rankings hold weightage of 20 per cent (administrative reforms), 45 per cent (operational efficiency), 25 per cent (ICT application), and 10 per cent (integration), respectively. The national average as of June 2026 stood at 70 per cent, up from 46.47 per cent in November 2025. Sources said the aforementioned states and the UT are currently above the national average.
Certain states are lagging owing to network issues, mainly in the northeastern parts of the country, which have hampered their rankings. However, sources said 23 of the 36 states and UTs were above the national average of 70 per cent. All states are competing with each other to meet the four parameters and improve their rankings. By January 1, 2027, most states are expected to achieve digital integration within police, prison, forensic, prosecution, and court – the five foundational pillars of India's criminal justice system that operate under the umbrella of the Inter-operable criminal justice system, integrated with the country's Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).
The three new criminal laws – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) – came into effect from July 1, 2024, replacing the colonial-era laws: IPC, CrPC, and Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
