RAW chief gets addl charge as Cabinet Sectt Secy (Security)

The decision came close on the heels of the Union Cabinet passing a resolution on Wednesday, declaring the November 10 Delhi bomb blast a terror incident, in which several fatalities were reported, while scores of persons were injured.

The Secretary (Security) oversees the administrative functioning of the Special Protection Group (SPG), the elite security agency entrusted with the Prime Minister’s security.

“The competent authority has approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat to Parag Jain, IPS (PB:89), Secretary, R&AW, under Cabinet Secretariat with immediate effect and till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further order, whichever is earlier,” read the order issued by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) issued on Wednesday.

The post of Secretary (Security) had been vacant after the superannuation of Harinath Mishra (a 1990-batch IPS officer) on July 31.

On June 14, the Centre had appointed Kerala-cadre officer RA Chandrashekhar (who was special director of the Intelligence Bureau at the time) to the post. But Chandrashekhar was appointed the Kerala Police chief before he could take over the assignment.

Since July 31, Manoj Govil, Secretary (Coordination), has been holding the additional charge of Secretary, Security.

Jain is a seasoned intelligence officer, credited with masterminding the high-stakes Operation Sindoor through a combination of human and technical intelligence.

The ACC had appointed Jain as the RAW chief in July this year, succeeding Ravi Sinha following his retirement. He is widely regarded as an expert in both human and signals intelligence.