Dhiraj Seth

• Southern Command
• South Western Command
• Delhi Area
• XXI Corps
• Uniform Force
• 98 Armoured Brigade
• 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse)

Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth PVSM AVSM
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2024
Service number	IC-44044X [1]
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, PVSM, AVSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command. ^[2] He was previously tenanting the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command. ^[3] He earlier held the appointment of General Officer commanding Delhi Area, ^[4] prior to that he was General Officer Commanding XXI Corps. ^[5]

Early life and education

General Seth is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, where he was recognised as the best all-round student in his course; in 2006, he attended the prestigious Defence Services Command and General Staff Course at the French Collège interarmées de Défense. ^[6]

The general is also a graduate of the Higher Command Course at the Army War College, Mhow, and of the National Defence College at New Delhi. Additionally, he qualified in the International Defense Acquisition Management Course of the Naval Postgraduate School in the United States. ^[7]

Military career

The general officer was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) on 20 December 1986 from the Indian Military Academy. ^[8] 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. He has commanded the Skinner's Horse, 98 Armoured Brigade and was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of a Rashtriya Rifles force in Jammu & Kashmir. He has served as brigade major of an independent armoured brigade, as Assistant Military Secretary in the Military Secretary Branch and as Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of the South Western Command. ^[9] Gen Seth also served as an instructor and assistant adjutant at the National Defence Academy (NDA), and as an instructor at the School of Armoured Warfare, Ahmednagar. In 1995–1996, he served with the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III as operations officer. ^[9]

He served as Director General (Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare) at Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army) in New Delhi before assuming the appointement of General Officer Commanding of XXI Corps on 31 July 2021. ^[5] He was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding Delhi Area in August 2022. ^[4]

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. ^[10] On 1 July 2024, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command succeeding Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh who superannuated on 30 June 2024 after four decades of service to the nation. ^[11]

Personal life

Gen Seth is a son of Lieutenant General Krishna Mohan Seth (Retd.), who retired as the Adjutant-General of the Indian Army in 1997, and who also commanded XXI Strike Corps from October 1992 to October 1994 and III Corps from October 1994 to October 1995. Following his retirement from the Army, he successively served as Governor of Tripura from 2000 to 2003, and as Governor of Chhattisgarh from 2003 to 2007. ^[5]

Awards and decorations

The General was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 2025 ^[12] and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022. ^[13]

Param Vishisht Seva Medal		Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Samanya Seva Medal	Special 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

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date of rank
	Second Lieutenant	Indian Army	20 December 1986 [8]
	Lieutenant	Indian Army	20 December 1988 [14]
	Captain	Indian Army	20 December 1991 [15]
	Major	Indian Army	20 December 1997 [16]
	Lieutenant-Colonel	Indian Army	16 December 2004 [17]
	Colonel	Indian Army	1 May 2007 [18]
	Brigadier	Indian Army	24 May 2013 (acting) 9 September 2013 (substantive, with seniority from 24 June 2011) [19]
	Major General	Indian Army	1 December 2018 (seniority from 1 February 2017) [20]
	Lieutenant-General	Indian Army	2021

References

1. "GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS TO ARMY ON REPUBLIC DAY 2022" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India . 25 January 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
2. "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes command of Pune-based Southern Army". The Indian Express. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
3. "Lt General Dhiraj Seth takes over as South Western Army chief". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
4. "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumed the command of Delhi Area from Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Mishra". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
5. admin (31 July 2021). "Army General to Command Corps His Father Led Too". Bharat Shakti. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
6. "Arrêté du 8 décembre 2006 portant attribution du brevet d'études militaires supérieures". Légifrance. Republic of France. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
7. "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth takes command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". The Hitavada. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
8. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 October 1988. p. 1588.
9. "Lt General Dhiraj Seth takes over as South Western Army chief". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
10. PTI (1 November 2023). "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes charge of South Western Command". ThePrint. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
11. "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumed the command of the prestigious Southern Command of the Indian Army as the 51st Army Commander". X (formerly twitter). 1 July 2024.
12. "President approves Gallantry awards to 93 Armed Forces personnel, including 11 posthumous & 305 defence decorations on the eve of Republic Day 2025". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
13. "Honours and Awards : Republic Day 2022" (PDF). PIB. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
14. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 September 1990. p. 1464.
15. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 September 1992. p. 1568.
16. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 18 April 1998. p. 567.
17. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 6 August 2005. p. 1359.
18. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2009. p. 1388.
19. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 2015. p. 2140.
20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 25 December 2021. p. 2963.

Military offices
Preceded by Ajai Kumar Singh	General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command 1 July 2024 - present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by B. S. Raju	General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command 1 November 2023 - 30 June 2024	Succeeded by Manjinder Singh
Preceded by Vijay Kumar Mishra	General Officer Commanding Delhi Area 1 August 2022 – 31 October 2023	Succeeded by Bhavnish Kumar
Preceded by Atulya Solankey	General Officer Commanding XXI Corps 31 July 2021 – 31 July 2022	Succeeded by Vipul Shinghal