New Delhi: Senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha has been appointed as the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He will succeed Samanth Goel who completes four years at the helm of the external spy agency this month-end.
As per the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) notification, the 59-year-old officer has been given a tenure of two years as Secretary of RAW. Goel completes his term on June 30.
Sinha is a 1988 batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre. He had an over two-decade-long stint in the RAW and is presently the number two in the agency. He is considered an expert on neighbouring countries, as he had a long experience looking after the Operations Wing of the agency before being promoted.
He was appointed RAW chief in June 2019 for two years and was given two one-year extensions.
Sinha is taking over as the new head of RAW at a time Pakistan is facing trouble within and Khalistanis are using every trick to fan Sikh extremism from abroad.
An alumnus of Stephen's College in Delhi, he has served in Jammu and Kashmir, north-eastern states, as well as in foreign countries.
Goel is also an expert on matters related to Jammu and Kashmir. He is also believed to have played a key role in the planning and execution of the surgical strike in Pakistan's Balakot in February 2019.
(Defence Watch– India's Defence News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)