Pankaj Saran appointed as new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA)

Pankaj Saran, the 1982-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He will at post for a period of two years, on deputation basis initially till the date of his superannuation, i.e., November 30, 2018, then on re-employment on contract basis. Currently, he is India’s envoy to Russia. He served twice in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) — first as Deputy Secretary/ Director during 1995 and 1999, and then as the Joint Secretary between 2007 and 2012. Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is assisted by Deputy National Security Advisers. Ex-chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Rajinder Khanna was in January 2018 also appointed as the Deputy NSA.