The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Maharashtra): In a significant reshuffling of top security positions within India, Sadanand Vasant Date, the leader of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, has ascended to the prestigious role of Director General at the National Investigation Agency (NIA), as revealed by a recent announcement from the Personnel Ministry. This development, marked by a Personnel Ministry notification dated March 26, places Date, an Indian Police Service officer from the 1990 batch and a member of the Maharashtra cadre, at the helm of the NIA, leading the agency until his retirement on December 31, 2026.
Sadanand Vasant Date is set to fill the shoes of Dinkar Gupta, whose tenure concludes at the end of March. This appointment comes as a result of the approval by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), signaling a fresh leadership phase for the NIA.
Moreover, the ACC announced the appointment of Rajeev Kumar Sharma, also a seasoned 1990-batch IPS officer but from the Rajasthan cadre, as the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research & Development, with his term extending until his retirement on June 30, 2026. Sharma will be stepping into the role following Balaji Srivastava, who is set to complete his service by the end of March.
Adding to the series of high-profile appointments, Piyush Anand has been designated as the new chief of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Anand, a distinguished 1991-batch IPS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre and currently serving as the Special DG of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), will assume the NDRF Director General position for a span of two years. He takes over from Atul Karwal, who is retiring at the end of March.
Lastly, in a crucial appointment concerning the security of the nation’s most protected individuals, S Suresh, belonging to the 1995-batch of IPS officers from the Kerala cadre, has been named the Additional Director General of the Special Protection Group (SPG). This string of appointments underscores the government’s commitment to reinforcing its security apparatus with experienced leadership across various critical agencies.
