IPS officer Ravi Sinha selected as new chief of RAW

Ravi Sinha, a senior IPS officer, has been appointed as the new chief of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Sinha will take over from Samant Kumar Goel, who is completing his four-year term on June 30. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Sinha’s appointment as Secretary of RAW for a period of two years.

Who is Ravi Sinha?

Ravi Sinha, a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the 1988 batch of the Chhattisgarh cadre, is presently serving as the Special Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. With over two decades of experience, Sinha has been associated with the intelligence agency for a significant period. Prior to his promotion, he held the position of heading the operational wing of RAW. Sinha has gained extensive experience through his work in regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast of India, as well as other countries.

Achievements of Samant Kumar Goel 

Samant Kumar Goel was appointed as the chief of RAW for a period of two years in June 2019. He was subsequently granted two one-year extensions, first in 2021 and then in June 2022.

Goel is recognized as an expert in matters pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir and is believed to have played a crucial role in strategizing the surgical strike that took place in Balakot, Pakistan in February 2019. The surgical strike was carried out in response to the Pulwama terror attack, where a suicide bomber from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). On February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force executed the strike, targeting a JeM terrorist training camp in Balakot.