Ajit Doval appointed as National Security Advisor for third time; will get cabinet rank

NEW DELHI: Ajit Doval has been reappointed as the National Security Advisor (NSA) for a third term. The central government also said that Doval will be assigned the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Dr PK Mishra has also been reappointed as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, with effect from June 10.

Ajit Doval, a 1968 batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, has been serving as the National Security Advisor for the last ten years. He was appointed as the National Security Advisor in 2014 after the first Narendra Modi government came to power. He remained in this position during the term of the second Modi government as well.

Earlier, some reports had claimed that Ajit Doval had informed the Prime Minister that he was no longer interested in continuing in this position. However, it is said that the Prime Minister asked Doval to remain in the post for some more time.

Ajit Doval was the head of the Intelligence Bureau before becoming the National Security Advisor. He played a crucial role in various important missions such as the Kandahar rescue mission, the 2016 surgical strike and the Balakot attack in 2019.