New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed Alok Joshi as the new Chairman of National Technical Research Organisation.
Joshi, an IPS officer of the Haryana cadre , who retired as chief of Research and Analysis Wing, the external intelligence agency, has been brought to improve India’s technical intelligence gathering capabilities. His appointment will lead to greater cohesion amongst the intelligence gathering arms of the government.
The decision to appoint Joshi also stems from the government’s desire to ramp up counter terrorism capabilities. Joshi will be part of the new security think tank of the Prime Minister which is led by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and comprises Chief of intelligence bureau Dineshwar sharma, chief of research and analysis wing Rajinder Khanna.
All this is significant as this signals that Prime Minister wants his national security team to have an operation oriented approach and all these appointments indicate this.
An alumnus of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru university. Joshi joined the Indian Police Service (IPS), Haryana cadre in 1976. He rose through his ranks and later in 2005 became the joint director of Intelligence Bureau, the internal intelligence agency of India. In 2010 he was appointed as a Special Secretary at R&AW and headed the intelligence agency in 2012