Ajit Doval

Ajit Doval
IPS KC PPM PM
Doval in 2017
5th National Security Advisor of India
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 May 2014
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byShivshankar Menon
Director of the Intelligence Bureau
In office
31 July 2004 – 31 January 2005
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byK. P. Singh
Succeeded byE. S. L. Narasimhan
Personal details
Born (1945-01-20) 20 January 1945 (age 79)
Ghiri Banelsyun, Pauri Garhwal, United Provinces, British India (now in Uttarakhand, India)
Nationality India
Spouse
Aruni Doval
​
(m. 1972)​
Children2 (including Shaurya Doval)
Residence(s)New Delhi, India
Alma materAgra University (MA)
National Defence College (M.Phil.)
Occupation• National Security Advisors to Prime minister[1]
• Retd. IPS officer
ProfessionBureaucrat,[1] Spymaster
Awards Kirti Chakra
Police Medal
President's Police Medal
NicknameJames Bond of India [2]

Ajit Kumar Doval IPS KC PPM PM (born 20 January 1945) is a bureaucrat, former spymaster and the current National Security Advisor (NSA) of India.[3] Doval is the longest serving NSA, currently serving his third consecutive five-year term since he was first appointed in May 2014 following the election of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India.[4][5] He is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Kerala cadre.[6][7][8][9]

He served as the Director of the IB in 2004–05, after working for a decade as the head of its operation wing.[10] He worked as an undercover spy of IB for one year in Pakistan then 6 years as an officer in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.[11] He spent most part of his career as an IB spy.[11]

As a spy and intelligence head, Doval was involved in Operation Black Thunder in 1988, the extrication of 46 Indian nationals in Iraq, Operation Hot Pursuit in 2015, the sabotage of the PFI and many more.[3][11][12]

He founded the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) in December 2009, a right of centre leaning think tank which he directed prior to his appointment as NSA.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b "List of Officers (PMO) | Prime Minister of India". Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  2. ^ "NSA Ajit Doval turns 77 today; all you need to know about the 'James Bond of India'". 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "NSA Ajit Doval turns 77 today; all you need to know about the 'James Bond of India'". Firstpost. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ Chaturvedi, Rakesh Mohan (13 June 2024). "PM Modi's Principal Secretary PK Mishra, NSA Ajit Doval get 5-year extension". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Ajit Doval appointed National Security Advisor for third consecutive time". Hindustan Times. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "डोवाल बने राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार" [Doval becomes National Security Advisor] (in Hindi). BBC. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2014. ...अजित कुमार डोवाल को प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा सलाहकार...
  9. ^ Donthi, Praveen (September 2017). "Ajit Doval in theory and practice". The Caravan. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Ajit Doval Biography: Birth, Education, Awards, IPS, Intelligence and NSA Career". Jagranjosh.com. 21 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Who is Ajit Doval". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  12. ^ Negi, Manjeet (22 September 2022). "Not a single bullet fired: How Centre planned mega crackdown on PFI terror links". India Today. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. ^ Pubby, Manu. "Pro-BJP think tank Vivekananda International Foundation skewers government on 'One Rank One Pension'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Former deputy NSA Arvind Gupta to head Vivekananda Intl Foundation". Hindustan Times. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2023.