General Dhiraj Seth is set to take over as the Army’s 31st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), on Tuesday as General Upendra Dwivedi concludes his tenure. General Seth, a veteran Armoured Corps officer and the former Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Seth is the first officer from the Armoured Corps to head the Army since General Shankar Roy Chowdhary retired in 1997.He was previously serving as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, prior to that he was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Command. He earlier held the appointment of General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area and as General Officer Commanding, XXI Corps. He is also the Colonel of the Regiment of the Armoured Corps. He has succeeded General Upendra Dwivedi, who took over as the COAS in June 2024.General Seth, commissioned into the 2nd Lancers (Gardner’s Horse) in 1986, has been the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army’s Pune based Southern Command and the Jaipur based South Western Command. Both of these two commands face Pakistan. General Seth is one of the few generals to have commanded two separate commands. He has also commanded the Bhopal based 21 Corps and was also the GOC of Delhi Area, where he oversaw ceremonial duties of both national and international importance. Besides this General Seth has commanded a counter-insurgency force in J&K, an armoured brigade and an armoured regiment.Beyond command, Seth has held pivotal staff appointments in capability development and strategic planning, shaping the Army’s long-term modernisation roadmap. He is taking over in the midst of a massive transformational drive, which the army calls the ‘decade of transformation’.During his tenure as the COAS, the army will be adopting many changes, such as implementing structural changes such as operationalisation of the Integrated Battle Groups, imbining of newer technologies, and greater penetration of drones in the service to name a few. A considerable headway in the introduction of the integrated theatre commands will also be made during his tenure. This would improve the coordination between the three armed services. Lt Gen Seth as the GOC-in-C Southern Command also spearheaded the tri-services Exercise Shakti on the western frontier.“The biggest challenge to the new chief will be to restructure the Army including its leadership to face the reality of a technology driven battle field where non contact kinetic warfare is the norm and will dominate warfare. The current imbalance in its command structure inhibits Indian Army from prosecuting war successfully in the new era of warfare or infuse technology or contribute to theaterisation,” says Lt Gen PR Shankar (retired), former Director General Artillery.An alumnus of the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy, Command & Staff Course in Paris and National Defence College. He has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.General Dhiraj Seth is the son of Lt General Krishna Mohan Seth who retired as the Adjutant General and has been the Governor of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura. Both father and son have commanded the Sudarshan Chakra Corps. Lt General Dhiraj Seth’s younger brother is Rear Admiral Ravnish Seth, who is currently posted in Karwar.