Senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha, an expert on India’s neighbouring countries, was appointed as the head of external spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) on Monday. He succeed Sumant Goel who completes his four year stint on Jun 30.
Mr Sinha, a 1988 batch IPS officer from Chhattisgarh cadre, is currently second in command of the agency, and was heading the operational division for the last seven years.
He is taking charge of the position at a crucial time, when Sikh extremism and ethnic violence in Manipur are likely to be some of his immediate challenges.
Ravi Sinha is currently the special secretary at the Cabinet Secretariat, and is known for his nuanced understanding of sensitive issues such as Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and LWE (Left Wing Extremism).
With the elevation of Mr Sinha to the coveted post, the government has again underscored the importance of operational capability of intelligence agencies.
In R&AW, Ravi Sinha has been attributed with infusing modern technology in the field of intelligence collection.
Government sources said that this would enable him to integrate technological and human intelligence dimensions to work together to address the challenges of our times.
“Ravi Sinha who prefers to maintain a low profile, in line with his job, is a widely respected figure across all the intelligence community for his professional competence. He has worked on a wide range of fields and brings to his new role a significant bank of experience and knowledge. He is known to have a sound grip on neighbourhood developments, besides J&K, North East, and Left Wing Extremists domains where he has served at different points in time,” an officer said.