Senior IPS officer Anish Dayal Singh, who has previously served as CRPF chief, has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). Dayal, a 1988 batch IPS officer of Manipur cadre, retired in December last year after a career spanning over thirty years. Dayal’s vast experience reflects his tenure as the chief of India’s largest paramilitary forces – the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) – before which he worked for nearly three decades in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), where he honed his expertise in counter-terrorism and internal security.
As Deputy National Security Advisor, Singh will oversee internal affairs, including security in Jammu and Kashmir, the fight against Left Wing Extremism and insurgency in the Northeast.
He will join a team that currently includes former RAW director Rajinder Khanna as additional national security adviser, as well as two other deputy national security advisers – retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former diplomat Pavan Kapoor.
During his tenure as CRPF DG, Singh led several reform efforts to enhance the force’s operational effectiveness and community engagement. He strengthened the CRPF’s presence in Naxal-affected areas by creating over 36 forward operational bases and raising four additional battalions.
He also managed crucial security arrangements for the 2024 general elections and the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the reorganisation. In a key reform, Singh restructured 130 battalions for the first time in nearly a decade, reducing the usual distance between battalion headquarters and their home bases from 1,200 km to 500 km – a move aimed at enhancing operational effectiveness as well as allowing soldiers to spend “time with family”.
Additionally, he initiated “Samvaad” dialogue sessions with company commanders to gather information at the ground level, which was appreciated across the organisation.
Apart from operational responsibilities, Singh also championed a framework to grant honorary ranks to retired Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel – a move designed to tackle delays in promotions, as some constables had been waiting for promotions for nearly 20 years. The policy was later approved by the central government.
According to officials, Singh’s appointment as deputy national security adviser will leverage his vast experience in intelligence operations, counter-terrorism efforts and institutional transformation, positioning him as a key contributor to India’s domestic security framework.