Senior IPS officer Praveen Vashista has been named as the new Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to an official order.
Vashista, a 1991-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Bihar cadre, is currently Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved curtailment in Vashista’s tenure as the Additional Secretary and appointed him as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Ministry for a tenure up to December 31, 2024, “as a special case and not to be quoted as a precedent”, said the order issued by the Personnel Ministry.
He will take over as Special Secretary (Internal Security) after incumbent Sivagami Sundari Nanda superannuates on December 31, 2024. Vashista’s tenure will be up to July 31, 2026, it said.
The crucial Internal Security division of the MHA deals with police, law and order, administrative and financial matters related to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) besides analysing threats emerging from terrorists and Maoists, among others.