Ravi Sinha IPS: The New Chief of India’s External Spy Agency!

Ravi Sinha IPS is a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and the newly designated Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency.

A 1988-batch IPS officer from Chhattisgarh, Ravi is considered to be an expert in dealing with matters related to countries situated in India’s immediate neighborhood.

Currently serving as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Ravi will take over as the head of RAW from the outgoing chief Samant Kumar Goel on 30th June 2023. Ravi has more than two decades of experience working with RAW and has been heading the agency’s operational division for the last 7 years.

Physical Stats

Ravi Sinha Relationships

There is no information available in public sources about Ravi’s relationships.

Education

Ravi Sinha IPS did his college education at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. St. Stephens is a renowned educational institution in the country and its alumni include famous celebrities such as D Y Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India, and Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India.

Controversies

There are no controversies available about Ravi in the public domain.

Ravi Sinha Profession

The 59-year-old Ravi is a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre. After completing his graduation, he appeared for the civil services exam conducted by the UPSC. Ravi cleared the exam and in 1988, he reported at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) situated in Hyderabad, Telangana for police training.

Post completion of his police training, Ravi Sinha IPS was inducted into the Madhya Pradesh cadre. In the year 2000, Chattisgarh was separated from Madhya Pradesh and was formed as a separate state. As a result, Ravi opted for the Chhattisgarh cadre.

With the turn of events, Ravi was posted at the Chhattisgarh police headquarters in Raipur. Later, he was appointed as the Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and his posting was at Durg, Chhattisgarh. In 2007, Ravi was transferred to New Delhi on central deputation. Eventually, he was appointed to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

After working with the organization for close to 10 years, Ravi took charge of the operations division of RAW in 2016. At RAW, Ravi has also worked in the capacity of Personal Security Officer (PSO) and Special Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat.

Prior to being elevated to the current role of Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (Secretar-R) in the Cabinet Secretariat, Ravi Sinha IPS was working as Special Secretary, in Cabinet Secretariat. This is the number two position at RAW, just below the chief. It is to be noted that the formal designation of the chief of RAW is Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (Secretar-R) in the Cabinet Secretariat.

On 19th June 2023, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Department of Personnel and Training issued a notification approving the appointment of Ravi as Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

With the appointment, Ravi will be replacing the outgoing Secretary Samant Kumar Goel who will be completing his tenure on 30th June 2023. As per the notification, Ravi’s appointment will be for a period of 2 years from the day he takes charge of the post or till the announcement of further orders, whichever comes earlier. 

For more than 20 years, Ravi Sinha IPS has been working with RAW. According to the Press Trust of India, he is highly respected in intelligence circles for his professional competence. Ravi is also an expert on matters related to India’s neighboring countries. In the past, he has served in Jammu Kashmir and the Northeast and was also posted in Bhutan,  China, Hong Kong, and The Hague.

Apart from having a sound grip on Jammu & Kashmir, Ravi also has extensive experience in handling Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas. Ravi’s appointment comes at a time when Pakistan is going through times of political and economic instability. Also, Ravi’s expertise in handling Khalistan issues is expected to come in handy in the current scenario. 

Ravi is also a tech-savvy officer and is credited for infusing the latest technology in the area of intelligence collection.    

Last year, there were news reports that SK Jaiswal, the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Sridhar Rao, and Ravi were the top contenders for the position of RAW chief.

Samant Kumar Goel, the current secretary of RAW, was appointed to that role in 2019. However, both in 2021 and 2022, he received two extensions and both times it was for one year. According to PTI, he is the only third chief in RAW to continue for more than three years.

An expert in handling matters pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, Goel is widely believed to be played a pivotal role in the surgical strike that happened in Pakistan back in 2019. The surgical strike was following the  Pulwama terror attack, which led to the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

It was a suicide bomber belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based militant outfit that caused the assassination of Indian officers.

Founded in 1968, RAW is the external intelligence agency of India. It was formed after a need arose for the formation of a separate agency to look into the matters pertaining to external intelligence. In the past, external intelligence was handled by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). However, currently, IB looks into matters related to domestic intelligence. 

Ravi Sinha Net worth

There is no information available in the public domain about Ravi’s net worth.

Lesser Known Facts About Ravi Sinha IPS

• Ravi Sinha IPS prefers to maintain a low profile. Hence, there are no details available about his personal life, family, or other interests in media reports.

• Following the appointment of Ravi as the chief of RAW, a photograph has surfaced on social media that was taken long back in 1988 when he passed out from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

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