In a significant security shake-up ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the government has announced key appointments to crucial positions in national security agencies.
Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sadanand Vasant Date has been named as the new Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while IPS Piyush Anand is set to assume the role of Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
According to an order released by the Ministry on Tuesday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has endorsed Date’s appointment as the DG of the NIA, with a tenure extending until his retirement on December 31, 2026.
Date, currently serving as the chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), belongs to the 1990 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) from the Maharashtra cadre.
He is slated to succeed Dinkar Gupta, who is set to retire on March 31.
Simultaneously, IPS officer Piyush Anand, from the 1991 batch of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed to lead the NDRF.
Anand, currently serving as the Special DG of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), assumes this new responsibility amid escalating challenges in disaster management and response.
His tenure will extend for a period of two years from the date of assuming office or until further orders.
Atul Karwal, the incumbent chief of NDRF, is scheduled to retire on March 31.
Additionally, Rajeev Kumar, an accomplished IPS officer from the Rajasthan cadre, has been designated as the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D).
These appointments mark a significant step in bolstering India’s security infrastructure in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from April.
