India names Mahesh Dixit as Intelligence Bureau chief

The Indian government has appointed senior police officer Mahesh Dixit as the new Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the country's premier domestic intelligence agency. The appointment was approved on Thursday by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dixit, a 1993-batch Indian Police Service officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, will succeed Tapan Kumar Deka, who has led the agency since July 2022. According to an official order, Dixit will serve a two-year term from the date he assumes charge. The government also approved an extension of his service under specific rules to facilitate his tenure.

Currently serving as the Special Director, the second-highest position in the IB, Dixit is a veteran intelligence officer with over 26 years of experience within the bureau. His career includes extensive work in counterterrorism, internal security, and intelligence operations. A significant portion of his service was spent in Jammu and Kashmir, where he led the agency's Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau in Srinagar. In that role, he oversaw intelligence operations across Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh following the constitutional changes to the...