Risaldar-major was originally a cavalry officer of the British Indian Army

British Indian Army

The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...

, the rank was created in 1886 - a risaldar-major was the most senior risaldar

Risaldar

Risaldar , meaning "the commander of a risala " in Persian, is a mid-level rank in cavalry and armoured units of the Indian Army. Risaldars generally command squadrons....

 (army rank equivalent to a captain) of the regiment. The rank was a viceroy's commissioned officer

Viceroy's Commissioned Officer

A viceroy's commissioned officer was a senior Indian member of the British Indian Army. VCOs were senior in rank to warrant officers in the British Army, and held a commission issued by the viceroy...

 in the cavalry.

Today a risaldar-major is the senior junior commissioned officer

Junior Commissioned Officer

Junior commissioned officer is a term describing a group of military ranks found in the Indian Army, Pakistan Army, Bangladesh Army and Nepal Army. Those soldiers holding JCO rank receive a commission from the President,...

 in the Indian Army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

 armoured corps, and remount and veterinary corps.

It carries the same responsibilities and insignia as the infantry subedar-major

Subedar-Major

Subedar-Major is the senior rank of Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, and formerly Viceroy's Commissioned Officer in the British Indian Army.nirmala...

.