SRINAGAR: 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, currently serving as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, according to an official order.
Dixit, a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, will succeed incumbent IB Director Tapan Kumar Deka, whose extended tenure concludes 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 post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The appointment has been made by granting him 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 extensive experience in counter-terrorism and internal security, Dixit is widely regarded as a Kashmir specialist owing to his long association with 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 between 2009 and 2012. He later returned to the Union Territory as Chief of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB), a position he held from 2020 to 2024.
During his tenure in Srinagar, Dixit oversaw intelligence operations across Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and played a key role in strengthening intelligence networks and inter-agency coordination in the period following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Officials credit him with enhancing field intelligence capabilities and improving information-sharing mechanisms among security agencies during a critical phase in the region’s security landscape.
Before his posting in Jammu and Kashmir, Dixit also served in Nagaland and Bihar in various intelligence assignments. A medical doctor by training, he has spent much of his career within the Intelligence Bureau, handling sensitive internal security and counter-insurgency 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 viewed as preparing him for the top post.
The Intelligence Bureau functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs and serves as the country’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 continues to focus on strengthening intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism capabilities and internal security coordination across the country.
