RAW, IB chiefs given six-month tenure extensions

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday extended the tenures of the chiefs of the country’s domestic and external intelligence agencies by another six months, a decision that may result in the redrawing of succession lines in both the agencies – the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

The two-year fixed terms of R&AW secretary Anil Kumar Dhasmana and IB director Rajiv Jain were ending on December 29 and 30 respectively.

Jain, a 1980 batch Jharkhand cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Dhasmana, a 1981 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer, will now serve as the heads of the their respective agencies till June, 2019.

The decisions were announced by the Cabinet’s appointments committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“This has been done keeping in mind that the country will hold general elections by May next year and therefore they should be continuity at the top in the two key intelligence agencies of the country,” said a senior official in who asked not to be named.

Former home secretary GK Pillai concurred with the decision. “I am never a votary for extension in tenure as I believe the officer coming next is equally competent but sometimes shortterm extensions are necessary, as they were this time, keeping in mind the general election schedule,” said Pillai.

With Dhasmana’s tenure extension , a possible successor, K Ilango, a 1982 batch India Police Service officer of the Jammu & Kashmir cadre, will no longer remain in contention for the R&AW top job as he retires in April next year.

THE TWO-YEAR FIXED TERMS OF RAW SECRETARY AND IB DIRECTOR WERE ENDING ON DECEMBER 29 AND 30 RESPECTIVELY