CHENNAI: Lieutenant General V Sreehari, AVSM, SC, SM, has been appointed as the new General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Indian Army's Dakshin Bharat area, with effect from August 1.

The Dakshin Bharat area encompasses the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep. Headquartered in Chennai, it plays a key logistical and administrative role in the Indian Army's southern operations.

Lt Gen Sreehari, a decorated officer with over three decades of distinguished service, hails from Wandoor in Malappuram, Kerala. An alumnus of Sainik School Amaravati Nagar, the National Defence Academy (NDA), and the Indian Military Academy (IMA), he was commissioned into the 16 Sikh Light Infantry in 1987 and later joined the elite Parachute Regiment in 1992.

The General Officer has held several key command, instructional, and staff appointments across India, including operational tenures in Siachen, the Northeast, and a UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His academic credentials include multiple postgraduate degrees and an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies.

He has been conferred with the Shaurya Chakra (1998), Sena Medal (2021), and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2023), among other honours. Lt Gen Sreehari is married to Uma Sreehari, a homemaker. Their daughter, Vedika, is employed in Puducherry.