Who Is Anish Dayal Singh? Former CRPF & ITBP DG Appointed As Deputy NSA

Senior IPS officer Anish Dayal Singh, who previously served as CRPF chief, has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA). Dayal, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Manipur cadre, retired from service in December last year after a career spanning over thirty years. Dayal's vast experience encompasses stints as chief of India's largest paramilitary forces — the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) — before he worked for nearly three decades in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), where he honed his expertise in counter-insurgency and internal security.

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As Deputy NSA, Singh will keep an eye on internal affairs, including security in Jammu and Kashmir, the fight against Left-Wing Extremism, and insurgency in the Northeast, as reported by news agency PTI.

He will become part of a team that currently features former RAW director Rajinder Khanna serving as Additional NSA, alongside two other Deputy NSAs — retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former diplomat Pawan Kapoor.

During his tenure as CRPF Director General, Singh led numerous reform efforts to enhance the force's operational effectiveness and community engagement. He strengthened the CRPF's footprint in Naxal-impacted regions by creating over 36 forward operating bases and forming four additional battalions.

He also managed critical security arrangements for the 2024 general elections and the inaugural Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir following its restructuring. In a significant reform, Singh implemented the first restructuring of 130 battalions in nearly a decade, reducing the typical gap between battalion headquarters and home bases from 1,200 kilometres to 500 kilometres — a measure designed to boost operational effectiveness whilst providing troops with increased "family time."

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Additionally, he launched "Samvaad" dialogue sessions with company commanders to collect ground-level input, an approach that received acclaim throughout the organisation.

Outside operational duties, Singh advocated for a framework awarding honorary ranks to retiring Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) staff — a measure designed to tackle promotional delays, with some constables awaiting advancement for almost 20 years. This policy subsequently received Union government approval.

According to officials, Singh's designation as Deputy NSA will leverage his extensive background in intelligence operations, anti-insurgency efforts, and institutional transformation, positioning him as a pivotal contributor to India's domestic security framework.