New Delhi: Former CRPF and ITBP Director General Anish Dayal Singh has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA), who has been entrusted with the responsibility of handling internal affairs. Official sources said that as Deputy NSA, Anish Dayal Singh will be in charge of the internal affairs of the country including Jammu and Kashmir, Naxalism and Northeast insurgency. Currently, former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna is the additional NSA, while retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former IFS officer Pawan Kapoor are the two deputy NSAs.
Singh, a 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Manipur cadre, retired in December 2024. Anish Dayal Singh has a long experience. He has served in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for about 30 years before leading the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Recently led the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
During his tenure as CRPF chief, Singh played a key role in several key initiatives, such as the CRPF’s progress in tackling Naxalism, setting up over three dozen forward operational bases, and raising four new battalions in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas.
He also oversaw the CRPF’s role in ensuring security during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the first assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Initiated restructuring of over 130 battalions
Anish Dayal Singh initiated a comprehensive restructuring of over 130 CRPF battalions – the first such restructuring in eight years, aimed at improving operational efficiency and providing more ‘family time’ to soldiers, reducing the average distance between units and their parent centres from 1,200 km to 500 km. He also initiated “Samvaad” sessions with company commanders to obtain feedback, which was widely appreciated within the force.
The appointment comes with the central government approving the grant of honorary ranks to retired personnel of the central armed forces, a move advocated by Singh.
Earlier this year, the home ministry had issued an order approving a policy aimed at boosting the morale of subordinate officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles. The policy, originally proposed by Anish Dayal Singh himself, was aimed at addressing the long-standing problem of deadlock in promotion opportunities, where some constables have to wait up to 20 years for their first promotion.
