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South Western Command (India)

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South Western Command
Insignia of the South Western Command
Active15 April 2005 - Present
Country India
Branch Indian Army
TypeCommand
Garrison/HQJaipur, Rajasthan
NicknameSapta Shakti Command
MottosSarvada Vijayee Bhava
transl. 'Forever Victorious'
Commanders
GOC-in-CLt Gen Mohit Malhotra, AVSM SM
Notable
commanders		General Dhiraj Seth
Insignia
Flag

The South Western Command of the Indian Army was established on 15 April 2005 and became fully operational on 15 August 2005. It was established in response to the emerging threats and opportunities on the Western Indo-Pak border and is headquartered at Jaipur, Rajasthan.[1]

Lieutenant General Mohit Malhotra is the present South Western Army Commander who took over on 1 July 2026.[2]

History and Role

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The South Western Command of the Indian Army was formally raised on 15 April 2005 as the seventh operational command, with its headquarters established at Jaipur Military Station in Rajasthan with Lieutenant General Krishnamurthy Nagaraj taking over as the first General Officer Commanding-in-Chief. This creation involved carving out sectors from the existing Western Command to enhance dedicated oversight of the arid western frontier, responding to evolving security dynamics along the Indo-Pak border.[3] The South Western Command is operationally responsible for the defence of Southern Punjab and Northern Rajasthan.[4]

Structure

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Currently, the South Western Command has been assigned operational units under:- X Corps and 42nd Artillery Division. The command in total has following units under its belt:- 3 infantry divisions (1 for Mountain warfare), 1 armoured division, 1 artillery division, 2 Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Division (RAPID), 1 armoured brigade, 1 Air-defence brigade, and 1 engineering brigade.

In 2021, except the 33 Armoured Division all the units of I Corps was transferred to Northern Command to focus on the Sino-Indian border at Ladakh.

Structure of South-Western Command
Insignia Corp Corp HQ General Officer Commanding Assigned Units Unit HQ
X Corps

(Chetak Corps)

 Bathinda, Punjab Lt Gen Vikrant Suresh Deshpande 16 Infantry Division Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan
18 RAPID Division Kota, Rajasthan
24 RAPID Division Bikaner, Rajasthan
6 (Independent) Armoured Brigade Bhatinda, Punjab
615 Air-defence Brigade Agra, Uttar Pradesh
471 Engineering Brigade N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A 42 Artillery Division Jaipur, Rajasthan
N/A N/A N/A N/A 33 Armoured Division Hisar, Haryana

List of GOC-in-C of South Western Command

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The following table chronicles the appointees as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Command.

S.No Rank Name Portrait Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission References
1 Lieutenant General Krishnamurthy Nagaraj 15 April 2005 31 July 2006 Maratha Light Infantry [5]
2 Parmendra Kumar Singh 1 August 2006 31 July 2008 Regiment of Artillery [6][7]
3 Chanroth Kunnumal Suchindra Sabu 1 September 2008 30 November 2010 Regiment of Artillery [8][6]
4 Shri Krishna Singh 1 December 2010 31 October 2011 8th Gorkha Rifles [9]
5 Gyan Bhushan 1 November 2011 31 December 2013 Mahar Regiment [10]
6 Arun Kumar Sahni 1 January 2014 31 January 2016 Regiment of Artillery [11]
7 Sarath Chand 1 February 2016 12 January 2017 Garhwal Rifles [12]
8 Abhay Krishna 25 January 2017 31 July 2017 Rajputana Rifles [13]
9 Cherish Mathson 1 August 2017 31 August 2019 Garhwal Rifles [14]
10 Alok Singh Kler 1 September 2019 31 March 2021 68 Armoured Regiment [15]
11 Amardeep Singh Bhinder 1 April 2021 28 February 2023 The Deccan Horse [16]
12 B. S. Raju 1 March 2023 31 October 2023 Jat Regiment [17]
13 Dhiraj Seth 1 November 2023 30 June 2024 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) [18]
14 Manjinder Singh 1 July 2024 30 June 2026 Madras Regiment [19]
15 Mohit Malhotra 1 July 2026 Incumbent 47 Armoured Regiment [2]

Notes

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1.^Later promoted to the rank of General and to the post of Chief of the Army Staff.

References

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  1. ↑ "South Western Command". indianarmy.nic.in.
  2. 1 2 "LIEUTENANT GENERAL MOHIT MALHOTRA, ASSUMES COMMAND OF JAIPUR BASED SOUTH WESTERN COMMAND". pib.gov.in. 1 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "India - Army South Western Command". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "All About South Western (Sapta Shakti) Command: Forever Victorious". 24 September 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Punjab". tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 "PressReader - the Times of India (New Delhi edition): 2008-09-01 - New GOC-in-chief of South Western Command". Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017 – via PressReader.
  7. ↑ "Sainik Samachar". Archived from the original on 24 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Jharkhand | School gets new campus". telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Lt Gen S K Singh takes over as Army SW Command chief". Deccan Herald. 3 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan takes over as SW command's new GOC-in-C". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Lt Gen Arun Kumar Sahni designated as GOC-in-C, South Western Command | NetIndian". netindian.in. 13 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Lt Gen Sarath Chand new GOC-in C of South Western Command". Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Lt Gen Abhay Krishna takes over Army's South Western Command". The Economic Times. 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "Lt Gen Cherish Mathson takes over Army's South Western Command". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Lt Gen Alok Kler cycles from Delhi to Jaipur to take charge of the Sapta Shakti Command". The Times of India. 3 September 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Bhinder takes over as chief of South Western Command". The Economic Times. 1 April 2021. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Lt General B.S. Raju takes over as General Officer Commanding–in–Chief South Western Command of Indian Army". www.spslandforces.com. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Lt General Dhiraj Seth takes over as South Western Army chief". Hindustan Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  19. ↑ Service, Statesman News (1 July 2024). "Lt Gen Manjinder Singh assumes charge of South-Western Command". The Statesman. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
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