New Army Chief Takes Charge
Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth will take over as the next Chief of the Indian Army on Tuesday, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi who retires. Lt Gen Seth, currently serving as the Vice Chief of the Army, is from the Armoured Corps and was commissioned in December 1986. This marks the first time in over three decades that an Armoured Corps officer will lead the Indian Army; the last such officer was General Roy Chowdhury, who retired in September 1997.
IAF Vice Chief Appointment
In the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will assume the role of Vice Chief on Wednesday, July 1. He currently serves as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), a tri-services organisation under the Chief of Defence Staff. Air Marshal Dixit, a fighter pilot, has been instrumental in promoting jointness and establishing proposed theatre commands. He is the senior-most officer in line to become the next IAF Chief when Air Chief Marshal AP Singh superannuates in October this year.
Broader Leadership Changes
These appointments come a month after Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani and Navy Chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan took charge. With Lt Gen Seth becoming Army Chief, Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, the Southern Army Commander, will replace him as the Vice Chief of the Indian Army.
Lt Gen Rajesh Pushkar, currently Commander of the II Strike Corps in Ambala, has been appointed as the Southern Army Commander, taking over on July 1 in Pune. He is also an Armoured Corps officer. Lieutenant General Mohit Malhotra will become the South-Western Army Commander in Jaipur, replacing Lt Gen Manjinder Singh who superannuates on Tuesday. Lt Gen Malhotra, commissioned into the 47th Armoured Regiment in June 1989, currently serves as Chief of Staff, Eastern Command, in Kolkata.
Significance of the Changes
Lt Gen Seth brings extensive experience across operational, strategic, capability development, and institutional domains, contributing significantly to the Indian Army’s combat effectiveness and long-term transformation. Air Marshal Dixit’s role in driving jointness and theatre command reforms underscores the military’s focus on integrated operations. These leadership transitions reflect a broader modernisation and restructuring of India’s defence forces.
