Appointment of new RAW chief

Question: Who has been appointed as new RAW chief?
(a) Samant Goel
(b) Arvind Kumar
(c) Anil Kumar Dhamsana
(d) Rajinder Khanna
Answer: (a)
Related facts:

  • The Narendra Modi government appointed IPS officer Samant Goel as the new Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief.
  • This comes three months after Samant Goel played key role in India’s counter-attack on the terror infrastructure in Pakistan’s Balakot.
  • Apart from this, the government has appointed senior IPS officer Arvind Kumar as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau. He is considered as an expert hand on matters related to Kashmir.
  • Both IPS officers are of the 1984 batch and hold the rank of Director General.
  • Goel is from the Punjab cadre while Kumar is from the Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
  • Goel replaces incumbent Anil Kumar Dhasmana, who is retiring after two and a half years of illustrious service. He has handled Punjab militancy at its peak in the 1990s.
  • On the other hand, Arvind Kumar has been involved in tackling Naxal extremism at the Intelligence Bureau. He is holding charge as special director Kashmir at the IB.

Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW):

  • The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India.
  • It was established in 1968 following the intelligence failures of the Sino-Indian War, which persuaded the Government of India to create a specialized, independent agency dedicated to foreign intelligence gathering
  • Previously, both domestic and foreign intelligence had been the purview of the Intelligence Bureau.

Links:
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/balakot-strategist-samant-goel-is-new-raw-chief-kashmir-expert-arvind-kumar-ib-director-1556415-2019-06-26
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/arvind-kumar-new-ib-chief-samant-kumar-goel-to-head-external-spy-agency-raw-119062600774_1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_and_Analysis_Wing