Nitin Agarwal, a 1989-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre, was on Sunday night appointed as the new Director- General of the Border Security Force (BSF), more than five months after the post fell vacant.
Mr. Agarwal is currently posted as the Additional DG of operations at the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters in Delhi.
An order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) issued late night stated that Mr. Agarwal had been appointed as the BSF DG "from the date of joining the post and up to 31.07.2026, his date of superannuation, or till further orders whichever is earlier".
The post of the BSF chief had been vacant for more than five months after Pankaj Kumar Singh retired on December 31, 2022.
CRPF DG Sujoy Lal Thaosen had been handling the charge of BSF in an additional capacity since then.
The appointment of Mr. Agarwal came on a day the BSF began its bi-annual four-day border talks with its Bangladeshi counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Delhi.
Mr. Thaosen is heading the BSF delegation for these talks. The Bangladesh delegation is led by BGB DG Maj. Gen. A.K.M. Nazmul Hasan.
The new DG is expected to take charge of the BSF after these talks end on June 14.
Mr. Agarwal has served in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), another border guarding force under the command of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), apart from working in various capacities in his cadre State of Kerala.
The BSF, with nearly 2.65 lakh personnel, is primarily tasked to guard Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh apart from rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain.
