NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha has been appointed the new chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) India’s external intelligence agency by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
Sinha is currently serving as the special secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. He will replace Samant Goel.
Goel was appointed RAW chief in June 2019 and received two one-year extensions in 2021 and 2022. He will be completing his tenure on June 30 this year, following which Sinha will take charge for two years.
Sinha is a 1988 IPS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre and has had an extensive career spanning over two decades in RAW. In his present capacity at the Cabinet Secretariat, he oversees the operations wing of India’s intelligence unit.
According to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the designation of 59-year-old Sinha as the RAW secretary for the next two years.
Considered a specialist on countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, Sinha’s appointment comes at a time when Pakistan is politically and economically unstable, Sikh extremism is being fanned from abroad and attempts are being made in the northeast to promote violence.
Sinha has served in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, and foreign countries earlier. His appointment comes at a time when the government is looking to strengthen India’s intelligence infrastructure and maintain a smooth transition amid a change of guard in the set-up.
His deep knowledge of issues related to hostile neighbours and adverse situations in the Indian subcontinent would be critical and useful in the wake of prevailing border tensions with China, issues of transborder terrorism, from Pakistan and efforts to revive Sikh extremism. Having worked in different positions in the RAW, Sinha has also been credited with modernising the operations of the intelligence wing.
#BREAKING: Ravi Sinha appointed as India’s New RAW Chief. Sinha is 1988 IPS officer from Chhattisgarh. Samant Kumar Goel had a successful tenure as RAW Chief with multiple extensions. His tenure saw Balakot Airstrike in Pakistan, peaceful Article 370 abrogation in Jammu & Kashmir… pic.twitter.com/X61wrC4bcf
New chief an expert on neighbouring nations
Considered a specialist on countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, Ravi Sinha’s appointment as the RAW secretary comes at a time when Pakistan is politically and economically unstable, Sikh extremism is being fanned from abroad and attempts are being made in the northeast to promote violence.