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Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth has been appointed as the next Chief of Army Staff (COAS) with effect from the afternoon of June 30. Lt Gen Seth, an Armoured Corps officer commissioned in December 1986, was widely seen by analysts as a frontrunner for the top post when Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi demits office on June 30, as he is the seniormost after the Army Chief.
The move places one of the Army’s senior-most officers at the centre of decision-making at a time of heightened operational focus along both the Pakistan and China fronts.
With the announcement of his appointment, the government has signalled the seniority criterion applied to the appointment of Service Chiefs and the merit of naming the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). This principle has held firm in the appointment of the current three Service Chiefs and their immediate predecessors, as well as in naming Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as the next Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), who assumed charge on May 31, announced with the appointment of Gen Raja Subramani as the CDS.
Lt Gen Seth has held a range of command and staff appointments over a distinguished career. Before taking over as Vice Chief, he headed the Pune-based Southern Command and earlier commanded the Mathura-based XXI Strike Corps. His operational experience spans commanding an armoured regiment in the desert sector, an armoured brigade, and a counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also led the Sudarshan Chakra Corps and served as General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. Notably, he has commanded both the South Western and Southern Commands, an uncommon distinction among Army commanders.
Incidentally, both he and his father, Lt. Gen. KM Seth, commanded the prestigious 21st Strike Corps. The senior Seth retired as the Army’s Adjutant General in December 1997. Now, 29 years later, his son Dhiraj will take over as the next Army Chief. Rear Adm Ravnish Seth, currently posted in Karwar, is the second son of Lt Gen Km Seth.
A distinguished contributor to capability development and modernisation, he has held key appointments in the Strategic Planning and Capability Development Directorates, including Colonel, Capability Development for Mechanised Forces; Brigadier, Perspective Plans and Acquisition; and Additional Director General, Capability Development, contributing significantly to the Indian Army’s Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan and modernisation roadmap.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
