India’s revamped security set-up gets IPS, intel influx

RAJINDER KHANNA’S APPOINTMENT IS A BREAK FROM THE PRECEDENT OF MAKING A DIPLOMAT THE DY NSA, IF THE NSA IS FROM IPS

NEW DELHI: The recent appointment of Rajinder Khanna, a former chief of the country’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), as Deputy National Security Advisor reflects the march of specialists, especially those from the Indian Police Service in the country’s national security establishment, which has, over the past two years, grown in significance, been given more resources, and now occupies a significant part of Sardar Patel Bhavan in the heart of the national capital.

The appointment of Khanna, considered a specialist on Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan is a break from the precedent of making a diplomat the deputy NSA, if the NSA is from the IPS.

Still, his appointment is in keeping with the direction the National Security Council Secre- Alok Joshi, a former R&AW chief, is now chairman of the technical intelligence gathering agency National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO); SC Jha, a former IB special director and counter-terrorism expert, is now deputy to Alok Joshi in the NTRO; Amitabh ‘Tony’ Mathur, a former R&AW special secretariat (NSCS) has taken under tary, is an advisor on Tibetan NSA Ajit Doval who has suraffairs in the home ministry; and rounded himself with specialists, RN Ravi, a former IB special mostly with a background in the director and expert on NorthIPS. East who now heads the Joint

Dineshwar Sharma, a former Intelligence Committee (JIC), a Intelligence Bureau chief, is now subsidiary body of the NSCS the government’s interlocutor on tasked with assessment of intelliJammu and Kashmir; Syed Asif gence gathered by various intelliIbrahim, another former IB chief, gence agencies. is now special envoy on counterRounding off the list are PS terrorism and extremism in the Raghvan, a former career diploNSCS; former R&AW special secmat who served as Indian ambasretary AB Mathur is a member of sador to Russia, who heads the National Security Advisory NSAB, and Lt Gen (retired) SL Board (NSAB), which is a subsidiNarasimhan, a member of the ary body of the NSCS and also the NSAB who is considered an government’s interlocutor on expert on China.

North-east insurgent group Ulfa;