Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Dhiraj Seth,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

, is a serving

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. He currently serves as

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command Southern Command is a formation (military), formation of the Indian Army, active since 1895. It has seen action during the integration of several Princely States into modern India, during the 1961 Indian Annexation of Goa, 1961 Indian liberation ...

. He was previously tenanting the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command. He earlier held the appointment of

General Officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

Delhi Area, prior to that he was General Officer Commanding XXI Corps.

Early life and education

General Seth is an alumnus of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

, Khadakwasla, and of the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. He is also an alumnus of the

Defence Services Staff College The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It trains officers of all three services of the Indian Armed Forces – (Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air ...

, 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. 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 Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

in the United States.

Military career

The general officer was commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) on 20 December 1986 from the

. 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 The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, after ...

, 98 Armoured Brigade and was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of a

Rashtriya Rifles The Rashtriya Rifles (RR; ) is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to deal with internal security in the Jammu and Kashmir (region), Jammu and Kashmir region. They maintain public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces ...

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. 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 The United Nations Angola Verification Mission III was the third peacekeeping mission operating in Angola from February 1995 until June 1997 during the Angolan Civil War.Meisler, Stanley. ''United Nations: The First Fifty Years'', 1997. Page 369. ...

as operations officer. 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 General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

of XXI Corps on 31 July 2021. He was subsequently appointed

Delhi Area in August 2022. On 1 November 2023,

Dhiraj Seth took over as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command succeeding

B. S. Raju who superannuated on 31 October 2023. On 1 July 2024,

Dhiraj Seth took over as the

succeeding

Ajai Kumar Singh who superannuated on 30 June 2024 after four decades of service to the nation.

Personal life

Gen Seth is a son of

Krishna Mohan Seth Lieutenant General Krishna Mohan Seth retired as the Adjutant General of Indian Army and was the Governor of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. Personal life Krishna Mohan Seth was born on 19 December 1939, in Allahabad. He is married to ...

(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 III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

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 The governor of Chhattisgarh is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The governor is appointed by the president of India. The official residence of the governor is Raj Bhavan, Raipur, Raj Bhavan. The position of the ...

from 2003 to 2007.

Awards and decorations

The General was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

in 2025 and the

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM, ) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime D ...

in 2022.

Dates of rank

References

{{s-end Living people Indian generals National Defence Academy (India) alumni Indian Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Year of birth missing (living people)