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The Modi government on Saturday appointed Rajiv Jain, a 1980 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Jharkhand cadre, as the new Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He succeeds Dineshwar Sharma who is scheduled to retire on December 31. 

The government also appointed Anil Dhasmana as the new Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief. He is an IPS officer of 1981 batch from Madhya Pradesh cadre. Mr. Dhasmana is an old hand in India’s external intelligence agency and is an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan matters. He will take over from Rajinder Khanna whose term ends this month-end. 

In clearing Mr. Jain and Mr. Dhasmana’s names as head of the two apex intelligence agencies the government has adhered to the criteria of seniority and has not jumped the queue. Both the officers will have two year fixed tenure. 

Rajiv Jain had joined the IB in 1989 as Assistant Director and has been posted as Joint Director of the Delhi unit of the IB, considered to be a key assignment in the agency. As Deputy Director, he was instrumental in shaping the then NDA government’s policy on Kashmir as he was handling Kashmir matters with the then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission K. C. Pant who had been appointed as the government’s pointsperson on exploring the possibility of starting dialogue with different sections in Jammu and Kashmir and help usher in peace in the troubled border State.

Mr. Jain also served in Gujarat as Joint Director, based in Ahmedabad between 2005 and 2008 and later shifted to Delhi to head the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) till 2012. At present, he is the senior most Special Director in the IB. 

On the front of the armed forces, the government announced appointment of Lieutenant General Bipin RawatâÂÂcurrently the Vice Chief of Army StaffâÂÂas the 27th Chief of Indian Army. It also named Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa who had commanded a fighter squadron during the 1999 Kargil conflict, as the new chief of the Indian Air Force. Both the Army Chief General Dalbir Singh and Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha are retiring on December 31.”