Who is Anish Dayal Singh, PM Modi’s new Deputy NSA

The central government has appointed Anish Dayal Singh, a retired IPS officer and former Director General of the CRPF, as Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his new role, 60-year-old Singh will report directly to NSA Ajit Doval.

Who Is Anish Dayal Singh?

Anish Dayal Singh is a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Manipur cadre. He was serving as the Director General of the CRPF since January 1, 2024. Singh was born in 1964 in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. After being selected for the Indian Police Service in 1988, he completed training as a police officer at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy located in Hyderabad.

Singh's career milestones

Singh, an IPS officer of 1988 batch from the Manipur cadre, led the Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF during a critical year in which the world's largest paramilitary force made significant strides in the government's campaign to combat Naxalism.


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Under his leadership, the CRPF established over three dozen forward operating bases (FOBs) in areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) and introduced four new battalions, adding more than 4,000 personnel dedicated to anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

Singh's tenure also coincided with the successful conduct of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the first assembly elections in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as the CRPF played a vital role in ensuring security across the nation.

After beginning his career from Manipur, Singh transitioned to central deputation in the early 2000s, where he held various key roles within the Intelligence Bureau.

He later headed the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a paramilitary force responsible for guarding the India-China border, before taking charge of the CRPF in December last year.

One of Singh's notable initiatives during his tenure was a comprehensive realignment of over 130 battalions within the CRPF to enhance operational efficiency.

This major restructuring, approved by the Union home ministry after an eight-year period, aimed to provide troops with better "family time" while reducing the average distance between units and their parent group centres (GCs) from 1,200 km to 500 km. The realignment also streamlined reporting and supply processes.

In a bid to address the challenges faced by the force, Singh initiated 'samvaad' (dialogue) sessions with company commanders and assistant commandants to gather insights on their needs, a move that garnered widespread appreciation.