RAW gets a new chief in IPS officer Ravi Sinha

Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ravi Sinha was on Monday (June 19) appointed as the new chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency, a Union Ministry of Personnel order said.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Sinha’s appointment as the secretary of RAW, for a two-year tenure, the ministerial order said.

Sinha, a 1988 batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, is currently serving as special secretary with the Cabinet Secretariat. Sinha has a reputation for his operational and spy abilities.

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He is considered a specialist on India’s neighbours and has worked in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and other countries.

His appointment comes at a time when Sikh extremism is rearing its head and finding takers in some western countries. Sinha has been with the country’s premium intelligence agency for over two decades. He headed the operational wing of RAW before his promotion.

Sinha replaces Samant Kumar Goel, who will complete his tenure on June 30, 2023. An expert on Jammu and Kashmir, Goel played a key role in planning of the Balakot surgical strike after he was appointed RAW chief in 2019. He got two extensions in 2021 and 2022. His tenure as RAW comes to an end on June 30.

(With agency inputs)