Former CRPF DG Anish Dayal Singh appointed deputy NSA

Former CRPF and ITBP chief Anish Dayal Singh has been appointed Deputy NSA, tasked with internal security including J\&K, Naxalism and Northeast insurgency. A veteran IPS officer, Singh previously led major CRPF reforms, election security, and anti-Naxal operations

New Delhi: Former CRPF and ITBP director general Anish Dayal Singh has been appointed the new deputy National Security Advisor (NSA), with a mandate to handle internal affairs, official sources said. Singh, a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Manipur cadre, retired from service in December 2024.

He brings extensive experience to the role, having served for nearly 30 years in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) before heading the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and most recently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

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According to officials, Singh will be in charge of internal affairs of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, and Naxal and Northeastern insurgency, as the deputy NSA.

Former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna is the Additional NSA, while retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former IFS officer Pawan Kapoor are the two serving deputy NSAs.

During his tenure as CRPF chief, Singh was instrumental in a number of key initiatives, such as CRPF’s strides in combating Naxalism, establishing over three dozen forward operating bases, and introducing four new battalions in the 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.

Internally, Singh initiated a comprehensive realignment of over 130 CRPF battalions — the first such restructuring in eight years, which is aimed at improving operational efficiency and providing troops with more “family time,” reducing the average distance between units and their parent centres from 1,200 km to 500 km.

He also introduced “samvaad” (dialogue) sessions with company commanders to gather feedback, a move widely appreciated within the force.

The appointment comes alongside the Union government’s approval of granting honorary ranks to retiring personnel of the central armed forces, a policy Singh championed.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order approving a policy aimed at boosting the morale of subordinate officers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles.

The proposal for this policy was originally moved by Singh himself with a reasoning to overcome the long-standing issue of stagnation in promotional avenues, with some constables waiting as long as 20 years for their first promotion.