Alok Joshi takes over as NTRO chairman

New Delhi: Senior IPS officer Alok Joshi on Friday took over as the new chairman of the National Technical Research Organisation today. 

Joshi, an IPS officer of the Haryana cadre , who retired as chief of Research and Analysis Wing, the external intelligence agency, has been brought to improve India’s technical intelligence gathering capabilities and provide effective analysis to the government and the intelligence agencies. His appointment will lead to greater cohesion amongst the intelligence gathering arms of the government.

The decision to appoint Joshi also stems from the government’s desire to ramp up counter terrorism capabilities.

Joshi will be part of the new security think tank of the Prime Minister which is led by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and comprises Chief of intelligence bureau Dineshwar sharma, chief of research and analysis wing Rajinder Khanna.

An alumnus of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, Joshi joined the Indian Police Service (IPS), Haryana cadre in 1976 and served in Haryana. He served as a joint director of Intelligence Bureau, the internal intelligence agency of India. In 2010 he was appointed as a Special Secretary at R&AW and became the chief of the external intelligence agency in 2012.