Five officials in race for state-run Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses chief post

NEW DELHI: The race has begun for heading India’s premier state-run think tank, Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses ( IDSA), after director-general Arvind Gupta was appointed the Deputy National Security Adviser last week.

The Ministry of Defence that runs IDSA has directed the body’s executive council to shortlist candidates and make a final choice by the month end, official sources told ET.

The names doing rounds for the post of IDSA DG include retired Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, India’s former ambassador to Russia and distinguished fellow of Vivekanand International Foundation Prabhat Shukla, former ambassador to USA and Germany Meera Shankar, former envoy to Kyrgyzstan and senior IDSA fellow P Stobdan, and deputy director-general of IDSA, retired Brigadier Rumel Dahiya, sources indicated. Dahiya is also currently the officiating director of the institute.

A bureaucrat from MoD is also speculated to be running for the job.

General Hasnain is a reputed military officer who retired as military secretary of the Indian Army and had earlier commanded an Army Corps in J&K. His father also served as a Major-General in the Indian Army.