Agencies | New Delhi:
The Central Government on Thursday appointed senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Mahesh Dixit as the next Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s premier internal intelligence agency.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the appointment of Dixit, who is currently serving as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, according to an official order.
A 1993-batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Dixit will succeed incumbent IB Director Tapan Kumar Deka, whose extended tenure is set to conclude on June 30.
According to the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Dixit has been appointed for a period of two years from the date he assumes charge of the office, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. His appointment has been made by granting an extension in service under the provisions of Fundamental Rule 56(d) and Rule 16(1A) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.
A seasoned intelligence officer with decades of experience in counter-terrorism and internal security, Dixit is widely regarded as a Kashmir specialist owing to his extensive involvement in intelligence operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
He previously headed the Intelligence Bureau’s Jammu and Kashmir desk and served as Deputy Director in the region from 2009 to 2012. He later returned to the Union Territory as Chief of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB), a post he held from 2020 to 2024.
During his tenure in Srinagar, Dixit supervised intelligence operations across Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Officials credit him with strengthening intelligence networks, enhancing field intelligence capabilities, and improving inter-agency coordination, particularly during the period following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Before his assignments in Jammu and Kashmir, Dixit served in Nagaland and Bihar in key intelligence roles. A medical doctor by training, he has spent the majority of his career with the Intelligence Bureau, handling sensitive internal security, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism responsibilities.
Last year, he was elevated as Special Director at the IB headquarters in New Delhi, becoming the agency’s second-in-command—a move widely seen as positioning him for the organisation’s top post.
The Intelligence Bureau functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs and serves as India’s principal domestic intelligence and counter-intelligence agency.
Dixit is expected to assume charge in the coming days. His appointment comes at a time when the government is continuing to strengthen intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism capabilities and coordination among security agencies to address evolving internal security challenges.
