Ravi Sinha, a senior IPS officer and a veteran of R&AW, has been appointed as the new Secretary of the external intelligence agency, replacing Samant Goel who will retire on June 30 after four years in office.
The Ministry of Personnel announced on Monday that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sinha, a 1988 batch IPS officer from Chhatisgarh, for a two-year term as the R&AW chief.
Sinha has over 20 years of experience in R&AW and is currently the second-in-command in the organisation. He was earlier in charge of the operations wing.
Sinha is known for his expertise on India’s neighbouring countries and has handled sensitive assignments in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast and abroad.
His appointment comes at a critical juncture when India faces multiple challenges from Pakistan’s instability and sponsored terrorism, Sikh radicalism from overseas and insurgent activities in the northeast.
Goel, who took over as R&AW chief in June 2019 for a two-year term and got two extensions of one year each in 2021 and June 2022, is credited with playing a key role in planning the surgical strike in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019.
The surgical strike was carried out by the Indian Air Force to avenge the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by a JeM suicide bomber.
