General Dhiraj Seth Reviews Rising Star Corps Preparedness, Calls for Vigilance and Battle Readiness
Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, reviewed the operational preparedness of the Indian Army’s Rising Star Corps during his ongoing visit to the Western Command, with a particular focus on readiness for emerging security challenges, technology adoption and measures to strengthen combat effectiveness.
The visit is part of the Army Chief’s wider assessment of formations under Western Command, one of the Indian Army’s most important operational commands overseeing strategically sensitive areas along India’s western front. During the review, General Seth was briefed on the evolving security environment, the formation’s operational requirements and the steps being taken to sustain a high degree of preparedness.
A key area of attention during the interaction was technology absorption. The briefing covered initiatives aimed at improving battlefield awareness, decision-making and responsiveness, with the broader objective of enhancing troop effectiveness in contemporary operational situations. The emphasis reflects the Army’s continuing effort to integrate advanced systems into its operational framework rather than treating modernisation simply as the acquisition of new equipment.
For the Indian Army, this approach increasingly involves embedding technology into training, operational planning and battlefield procedures so that new systems produce tangible gains in situational awareness, precision, survivability and response times. Modern warfare now demands the integration of conventional combat capabilities with unmanned systems, electronic warfare, surveillance assets, secure communications, artificial intelligence-assisted applications and networked command-and-control systems.
General Seth appreciated the high standards of operational readiness maintained by the Rising Star Corps and also acknowledged the formation’s contribution to nation-building activities alongside its core military role. He stressed that formations deployed in strategically important areas must be able to respond rapidly to changes in the security environment.
Addressing commanders and troops, the Army Chief underlined the need for constant vigilance, battle readiness and a sustained high level of operational preparedness. His remarks reflected a broader institutional message that, even as warfare evolves and military forces adopt more sophisticated technologies, the fundamentals of readiness and the ability to execute assigned operational tasks remain central to military effectiveness.
Earlier in the visit, General Seth had also gone to the Headquarters of Western Command, where he reviewed the Command’s overall operational preparedness and ongoing capability-enhancement initiatives. Taken together, the engagements indicate that the Army leadership is closely examining how formations in the western theatre are balancing immediate readiness requirements with longer-term modernisation goals.
The Rising Star Corps review fits into a larger pattern associated with General Seth’s professional focus on capability development and military modernisation. Before assuming office as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff on June 30, 2026, he held several senior appointments linked to strategic planning, force management and capability development. The Ministry of Defence has highlighted his role in shaping the Army’s modernisation trajectory and in aligning operational requirements with emerging technologies and future battlefield needs.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, General Seth was commissioned into the Armoured Corps in December 1986. Across nearly four decades of military service, he has held command appointments in varied operational environments. These include command of an Armoured Regiment in the desert sector, an Armoured Brigade in the western theatre and a Counter-Insurgency Force in Jammu and Kashmir.
As a Lieutenant General, he commanded the Sudarshan Chakra Corps, one of the Army’s major strike formations, and later served as General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. He subsequently led both South Western Command and Southern Command, roles that gave him wide exposure to operational planning across major sectors of the country.
His emphasis on technology-enabled operations has also been visible in earlier assignments. While relinquishing command of Southern Command in March 2026, General Seth had urged troops to preserve their operational edge through technology absorption, refinement of warfighting competencies for multi-domain operations and the continued development of a future-ready force.
That continuity was evident again in the Rising Star Corps review, where the stress was not only on the adoption of new systems but on ensuring that technological modernisation remains tied to practical warfighting outcomes. Senior-level reviews of this kind allow formations to assess preparedness, identify capability gaps and ensure that commanders and troops remain aligned with changing operational demands.
Within the Western Command structure, the Rising Star Corps holds an important place in maintaining operational readiness while incorporating new capabilities and technologies. That responsibility is particularly significant at a time when the nature of security threats is changing quickly and military formations are expected to operate effectively across an increasingly complex and multidomain battlefield.
The Army Chief’s visit also drew attention to the wider responsibilities routinely shouldered by Army formations beyond their primary operational mandate. Units frequently contribute to humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, infrastructure support, environmental initiatives and aid to civil authorities when required. General Seth’s appreciation of these efforts recognised that such contributions continue alongside the imperative of maintaining combat readiness as the foremost priority.
General Seth took charge as India’s 31st Chief of the Army Staff on June 30, 2026, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi. His background in operational command, strategic planning and capability development is expected to shape the Army’s continuing transition towards a more technologically enabled and future-ready force.
His review of the Rising Star Corps conveyed a clear institutional message: rapid technological change may be altering the character of warfare, but constant vigilance, realistic preparation and battle readiness remain the foundation of military effectiveness. The Army’s effort, as reflected in the Western Command review, is to combine those enduring fundamentals with faster technology absorption and capability enhancement so that its formations remain prepared for both conventional and emerging security challenges.
