Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the Chief of the Air Staff, met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, with his spouse Smt Archana Dixit accompanying him. The interaction was formally confirmed by the President’s Secretariat through the official Rashtrapati Bhavan X handle.
The Secretariat’s post said: “Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit along with spouse Smt Archana Dixit called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.” It also shared a photograph of the meeting.
Air Chief Marshal Dixit assumed office as the 29th Chief of the Air Staff on October 31, 2026, after Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh superannuated on the same day. The call-on fits the established protocol under which service chiefs meet the President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces under the Constitution of India.
Role of Smt Archana Dixit and the institutional context
Smt Archana Dixit serves as President of the Air Force Families Welfare Association (AFFWA). According to the report, such engagements give the senior leadership of the Indian Air Force an opportunity to brief the Supreme Commander on operational readiness, capability development, and welfare matters concerning personnel and their families.
Meetings of this kind are described as a regular institutional practice and a formal expression of the civil-military relationship. No further details of the conversation were officially disclosed.
Service record of Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM, is a fighter pilot with more than 3,500 hours of flying experience on aircraft including the Mirage-2000, MiG variants, Jaguar, Hawk, and Tejas. Commissioned into the fighter stream on December 6, 1986, he is an experimental test pilot and a qualified flying instructor.
He has participated in Operation Safed Sagar, Operation Rakshak, and Operation Sindoor. Before becoming Chief of the Air Staff, he held key appointments including Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
Priorities under the theme ‘VAYU’
On taking over, he outlined his priorities under the guiding theme ‘VAYU’. These include vigilance and combat readiness, with restoration of fighter squadron strength towards sanctioned levels, Aatmanirbharta in platforms, sensors, and weapons, Yukti through innovation in areas such as drones, AI, and space, and unity of effort with the other Services.
