Senior IPS officer Mahesh Dixit, 1993-batch Telangana officer, appointed new Intelligence Bureau chief

PTC News Desk: The Centre has appointed senior IPS officer Mahesh Dixit as the new Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), making him the head of India's top internal intelligence agency.

Dixit, a 1993-batch IPS officer from the Telangana cadre, will replace outgoing IB Director Tapan Kumar Deka. He will serve a two-year term from the day he takes charge.

According to the appointment order approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Dixit, who is currently serving as Special Director in the IB, has been given an extension in service so that he can take over the top post.

Dixit has decades of experience in intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism operations and national security. He is considered one of the government's most experienced intelligence officers and has played an important role in several major security operations in recent years.

One of the key moments in his career was his role before the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Sources said he helped assess the security risks of the move and planned strategies to maintain law and order during the transition.

After Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Dixit was given important intelligence responsibilities in the region. Officials say he helped restore public confidence during a politically sensitive period while dealing with security threats from terrorism and separatist groups.

Apart from his work in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Dixit has also been involved in tackling misinformation and propaganda campaigns against India from both domestic and foreign sources. Security experts believe his experience in handling digital and information-related threats will be valuable as national security challenges increasingly move into the online space.