Ministry of Defence press release · 1 April 2026 · pibtracker filter

LT GEN SANDEEP JAIN ASSUMES COMMAND OF SOUTHERN COMMAND

PRID2247655 MinistryMinistry of Defence Released1 April 2026 Reading8 min

Posted On: 01 APR 2026 2:35PM by PIB Delhi Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain has assumed command as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command on 01 April 2026. He succeeds Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, who has taken over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff today. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain was commissioned into the MAHAR Regiment in June 1988. Over a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades, he has held a wide range of command and staff appointments across diverse operational environments. The General Officer has commanded an Infantry Battalion in semi-developed terrain as well as in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, an Infantry Brigade in a Strike Corps, a Counter Insurgency Force and a Pivot Corps in Northern Command. His operational experience includes participation in Operation Pawan, service as a Military Observer with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and multiple tenures in high-altitude areas and counter-insurgency operations along the Line of Control and in the North East. He is also the Colonel of the MAHAR Regiment. Prior to assuming command of Southern Command, he served as Chief of Staff at Headquarters Southern Command, where he contributed significantly to capability development, force restructuring and overall operational preparedness. The General Officer has attended the Higher Command Course at the Army War College and the National Defence Course in Kenya. In recognition of his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Sena Medal. On assuming command, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the Southern Command War Memorial and received a Guard of Honour at Headquarters Southern Command. He stated that the Command will continue to focus on operational readiness across its diverse areas of responsibility, including deserts, the Rann and Creek Sector, coastline, island territories and hinterland. He emphasised strengthening jointness, indigenous capability development and technology absorption under the JAI framework and directed all ranks to maintain high standards of preparedness, professionalism and combat readiness in line with evolving operational challenges. *** Nishant Arvind/ Pradeep Kumar (Release ID: 2247655) Visitor Counter : 8183 Read this release in: Urdu , Marathi , हिन्दी Ministry of Defence LT GEN SANDEEP JAIN ASSUMES COMMAND OF SOUTHERN COMMAND Posted On: 01 APR 2026 2:35PM by PIB Delhi Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain has assumed command as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command on 01 April 2026. He succeeds Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, who has taken over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff today. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain was commissioned into the MAHAR Regiment in June 1988. Over a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades, he has held a wide range of command and staff appointments across diverse operational environments. The General Officer has commanded an Infantry Battalion in semi-developed terrain as well as in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, an Infantry Brigade in a Strike Corps, a Counter Insurgency Force and a Pivot Corps in Northern Command. His operational experience includes participation in Operation Pawan, service as a Military Observer with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and multiple tenures in high-altitude areas and counter-insurgency operations along the Line of Control and in the North East. He is also the Colonel of the MAHAR Regiment. Prior to assuming command of Southern Command, he served as Chief of Staff at Headquarters Southern Command, where he contributed significantly to capability development, force restructuring and overall operational preparedness. The General Officer has attended the Higher Command Course at the Army War College and the National Defence Course in Kenya. In recognition of his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Sena Medal. On assuming command, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the Southern Command War Memorial and received a Guard of Honour at Headquarters Southern Command. He stated that the Command will continue to focus on operational readiness across its diverse areas of responsibility, including deserts, the Rann and Creek Sector, coastline, island territories and hinterland. He emphasised strengthening jointness, indigenous capability development and technology absorption under the JAI framework and directed all ranks to maintain high standards of preparedness, professionalism and combat readiness in line with evolving operational challenges. *** Nishant Arvind/ Pradeep Kumar (Release ID: 2247655) Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain has assumed command as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command on 01 April 2026. He succeeds Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth, who has taken over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff today. <img alt="" src="https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/image/ACSCPHOTOJ5SO.png" style="height:300px; width:500px" /> An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain was commissioned into the MAHAR Regiment in June 1988. Over a distinguished career spanning nearly four decades, he has held a wide range of command and staff appointments across diverse operational environments. The General Officer has commanded an Infantry Battalion in semi-developed terrain as well as in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, an Infantry Brigade in a Strike Corps, a Counter Insurgency Force and a Pivot Corps in Northern Command. His operational experience includes participation in Operation Pawan, service as a Military Observer with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and multiple tenures in high-altitude areas and counter-insurgency operations along the Line of Control and in the North East. He is also the Colonel of the MAHAR Regiment. Prior to assuming command of Southern Command, he served as Chief of Staff at Headquarters Southern Command, where he contributed significantly to capability development, force restructuring and overall operational preparedness. The General Officer has attended the Higher Command Course at the Army War College and the National Defence Course in Kenya. In recognition of his distinguished service, he has been awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Sena Medal. On assuming command, Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain paid tribute to fallen soldiers at the Southern Command War Memorial and received a Guard of Honour at Headquarters Southern Command. He stated that the Command will continue to focus on operational readiness across its diverse areas of responsibility, including deserts, the Rann and Creek Sector, coastline, island territories and hinterland. He emphasised strengthening jointness, indigenous capability development and technology absorption under the JAI framework and directed all ranks to maintain high standards of preparedness, professionalism and combat readiness in line with evolving operational challenges. *** Nishant Arvind/ Pradeep Kumar " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); 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LT GEN SANDEEP JAIN ASSUMES COMMAND OF SOUTHERN COMMAND

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